Think about all the things that are most important to you. What gets you up in the morning, and what do you look forward to the most? The first thing that comes to mind is probably your relationships with your loved ones, including your partner, your family, and your friends. Our relationships give us a lot of joy, meaning, and purpose. We love sharing special moments and memories with the people closest to us. Unfortunately, hearing loss can come between you and the ones you love. Hearing loss can make it impossible to communicate easily, and before long your relationships start to suffer.
Untreated Hearing Loss in Social Situations
Have you noticed the early signs of hearing loss? Maybe you’re having a hard time following conversations, or finding that all the background noise is getting more irritating. When you have untreated hearing loss, social situations become a lot more difficult. You spend most of your energy straining to hear, but you seem to be missing important sounds. No matter how hard you try, you can’t quite make sense of what’s being said.
High frequency sounds are usually some of the first sounds we lose. Consonant sounds are in this higher pitch, so when we start to notice hearing loss, we can’t always hear the consonants or make sense of words. You ask people to repeat themselves, but it doesn’t seem to help. And you get embarrassed when you mishear something and answer inappropriately.
People living with untreated hearing loss often choose to stay at home rather than face these social situations with hearing loss. They feel more isolated and alone, and even have higher rates of anxiety and depression. Hearing loss might not seem like a big deal at first, but it turns out that hearing is incredibly important.
Untreated Hearing Loss at Home
Your hearing loss doesn’t just affect you. Your partner and your family are also affected. They miss being able to talk to you about anything and everything. They’re worried that you spend more time alone. Not only that, but hearing loss can lead to more misunderstandings, fights, and frustrations.
Treating Hearing Loss Helps You Hear Conversations
Hearing aids help us hear all the sounds we’ve been straining to hear. Modern hearing aids also have a number of programs and settings designed specifically for social interactions. For example, speech enhancement programs will make it easier for you to hear those consonant sounds you’ve been missing. And background noise reduction programs help you tune out the sounds you don’t want to hear. Directionality microphones also help you pay more attention to the sounds in front of you. When you’re facing the person you want to hear, you’ll hear their voice over the sounds coming from behind you.
Hearing aids will also improve your social life. With hearing devices you’ll have a much easier time hearing in background noise. In fact, some hearing aids give you better hearing in background noise than normal hearing! With this amazing technology in your ears, you’ll have no problem attending social events, meeting friends for dinner or drinks, and easily keeping up with the conversations.
Treating Hearing Loss Improves Your Relationships
Wearing hearing aids can go a long way in repairing your close relationships. With better hearing it’s much easier to communicate. You’ll have effortless conversations with your partner, and they won’t get upset when you misunderstand them for the hundredth time. Instead, you’ll hear what they’ve said the very first time, and you can get back the closeness you’ve lost. Hearing aids can help you share more special moments of quiet conversation and share all the little things in life. For example, if you’ve been watching TV alone because your family can’t stand the high volume, hearing aids will let you turn the volume down and invite your family back.
Are you ready to treat your hearing loss and improve your relationships? Contact us today to schedule an appointment for a hearing test.