Self Esteem and Hearing Loss … Making Decisions
Those people in the world who are not experiencing hearing loss never think twice about how easy it is to carry on a conversation at any point during their day. On the other side of the coin, those who are experiencing hearing loss may not even realize they are missing out on important conversations happening right in front of their eyes. Even worse is the misunderstanding that can often occur with those who are beginning to experience hearing loss; those patients who are not yet aware of what the problem is with their hearing.
Denial is one of the most frequently felt emotions experienced by those entering the beginning stages of hearing loss. Conversational misunderstandings are usually the first sign there is a problem. How embarrassing would it be for the president of the company to ask how your lunch was, and you answer with something entirely inappropriate to the situation. Patients in denial of hearing loss will often go on for years experiencing this same type of embarrassment before they will admit there is a problem with their hearing.
So what if this doesn’t just happen once in a while? What if it happens several times per day? The first indication there is a hearing problem is missing out on parts and pieces of words in conversations. People with hearing loss will often accuse others of mumbling or whispering when they are actually speaking with a normal tone of voice. Depending on the level of hearing loss, people will miss out on different parts of human speech. Some levels of hearing loss cause people to not hear women and children’s pitch of voice. Some levels of hearing loss will only cause consonants in words to remain unheard.
How would personal and work relationships be affected by the beginning stages of hearing loss? How is your self-esteem affected by others viewing you as feeble minded or mentally slow? Especially when you used to be a power broker, a high roller, a mover and shaker or if your family saw you as the stable leader and decision maker. Self-esteem is the cornerstone of how we view ourselves. The lower your self-esteem goes, the more prone you are to not take care of personal needs and the more likely you are to slip into depression. The lower self-esteem sinks, the more personal and work relationships are adversely affected.
Relationships, both personal and work, can deteriorate quickly as hearing loss increases. The less you can hear, the less you can effectively communicate with others. Hearing aids are one of the best options for those affected by many types of hearing loss. Hearing aids provide clarity of sound, clear and direct communication and restore a patient’s ability to effectively interact with others. Clarity of sound provides clarity of thought; clear understanding of what others are saying to you, allow you to make decisions with full knowledge and appropriately react to the speech of others.
Those with hearing loss, who are still in denial of their condition, will often hide themselves away from the outside world. Hiding is often done to avoid social situations where hearing is essential to personal interaction. Once a hearing loss patient confronts the condition they are experiencing, a hearing professional can provide the means to rejoin the world. Hearing aids that are small enough to fit completely inside the ear canal are available for those with most stages of diagnosed hearing loss. These miniature hearing aids effectively assist with hearing loss without resorting to the cosmetically unappealing bulky look available from traditional hearing aids.
Restoring most, if not all, of a patient’s normal hearing can be the simplest way to restore a patient’s self-esteem. Someone who was once confident and outgoing, who has hidden themselves away from the world to avoid confronting their hearing loss, can once again be confident and outgoing. High self-esteem plays an important role in maintaining healthy personal and business relationships. Anyone suspecting they are suffering from hearing loss should not wait until the situation is so severe as to affect their personal relationships, they should make an appointment with an audiologist or hearing professional for an exam and diagnosis.
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