People Experiencing Hearing Loss Often Avoid Crowds Or Noisy Situations

With most types of hearing loss, there is a lack of ability to distinguish sounds when there is background noise present.  Many patients experiencing the beginning stages of hearing loss will avoid crowds and loud social situations because of their inability to hear.  Often, the avoidance of social situations is due to embarrassment or a fear of making an unacceptable response to a question.  Without the fine tuned ability to distinguish many different sounds, such as in a crowded stadium or party, questions are not easily understood.  

As the hearing loss worsens, the ability to define conversation in a crowded situation gets more difficult.  Even maintaining a conversation with someone seated directly across a table at a crowded restaurant can be a challenge.  As the difficulty level increases, the desire to avoid crowded situations can increase exponentially.  From avoiding large crowds to eventually avoiding even intimate family settings, hearing loss can affect family and friends almost as much as it affects the person experiencing the loss.

Hearing aids can greatly alleviate the difficulty and potential embarrassment social situations can create.  Most modern hearing aids filter background noise and allow the person wearing the aids to differentiate between individual conversations.  Unfortunately, most people who could benefit from the use of hearing aids avoid them for vanity or economic reasons.

Many people with hearing loss are not aware of the availability of small digital hearing aids that can be virtually invisible to others.  Depending on the type of hearing loss and the extent of the damage, some hearing aids fit completely into the ear canal and cannot be seen by others.  It is always best to set an appointment with your Dr. as soon as hearing loss is suspected; after ruling out other medical conditions causing your hearing loss a hearing aid may be recommended.  The correct use of hearing aids can allow people with hearing loss to join in the crowd without fear of misunderstanding or embarrassment.

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