How To Deal With Hearing Loss
Coping with hearing loss is challenging. It often conjures up feelings of sadness, vulnerability and frustration as you attempt to adapt to your new reality. While the realisation that you are losing your hearing is difficult, there are steps you can take to help you deal with the change.
The Emotional Impact
Grief is a perfectly normal and healthy reaction to the loss of your hearing. You can expect to experience five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. During this time, it’s important to be patient and understanding with yourself and to reach out to friends and family for support. Local support groups also offer invaluable resources to help you cope with your new “normal”.
Seek Treatment
Hearing aids make listening, especially in noisy areas, much easier. So it’s surprising that adults take an average of seven years from the onset of hearing loss to seek treatment. This means that most people wait seven years before having a hearing aid fitted. A common barrier to getting a hearing aid fitted is the belief that they are ugly and bulky. But with new innovations, most hearing aids fit discretely inside the ear canal. To avoid losing out on the benefits of a hearing device or cochlear implant, be sure to get your hearing checked at an audiologist every five years.
Adapting To A New Way Of Communication
Ease of communication is often taken for granted before experiencing hearing impairment. The way you communicate and perceive the world will adjust, and those around you will adapt too. Just some of the things you and your loved ones can do to help ease communication include reducing background noise when talking and speaking slowly and clearly while facing each other. Body language is said to be 55% of all communication. This is why reading facial expressions and body language can also provide context to what is being said.
The Final Word
Dealing with the loss of your hearing is difficult. The good news is it’s treatable. With early treatment, hearing loss can be slowed down or even cured. If you suspect that you or your loved one’s hearing is beginning to deteriorate, be sure to visit your family doctor or local audiologist to confirm your suspicions.