What are the consequences of letting hearing loss go untreated? A growing body of research shows that hearing loss is related to higher rates of physical, mental, and cognitive health issues, but did you know that it can harm your relationships, as well. When hearing loss gets between loved ones, it can be difficult to resolve these problems. Any solution short of getting treatment for hearing loss can feel like a band-aid on the relationship strife. Let’s take a look at some of the ways that untreated hearing loss can interfere with your relationships. With these challenges in mind, you will have even more reason to encourage your loved one to get the treatment they need.
Practical Interferences
Hearing loss causes some trouble in relationships due to practical interferences in communication. When someone is unable to hear instructions, details, or expectations, many mishaps can ensue in daily life. Hearing something incorrectly can be just as great a problem as not hearing at all. When you give a loved one with hearing loss a crucial detail, the problems can snowball into something much more serious. In addition, these moments of miscommunication can cause unsafe situations. Hearing loss can get in the way of the basic transfer of information in ways that put the family and others at risk. Furthermore, this miscommunication is made worse when a person does not admit to having hearing loss at all. Rather than taking other practical steps to resolve these issues, the family might not realize that so little is getting through in verbal communication.
Emotional Interferences
Hearing loss not only causes problems due to these practical issues of information transmission. Loved ones can build up frustration, resentment, and disappointment when a loved one lets hearing loss get in the way of the relationship. One common experience of hearing loss is a growing frustration or anger that others are not speaking clearly or loudly enough. Of course, that blame is misplaced, and the real culprit is the condition of hearing loss impeding communication. Other emotional issues can arise due to the breakdown of communication between you, including the feeling of a lost connection. In the past it might have been common to communicate your feelings and deepest inner reality through conversations. When hearing loss gets in the way of that communication, it can feel like a betrayal. Where once you were able to disclose your emotions to your loved one, that connection can be cut of through hearing loss. These emotional interferences can escalate, leading to blame and anger at one another, although the real blame belongs with the condition of untreated hearing loss.
Social Interferences
Not only does untreated hearing loss interfere with your closest relationships, but it can also get in the way of community connections. The relationships we have with casual acquaintances are also important to our wellbeing, and knowing that there are people in the world to help us is one way to feel trust and security in our neighborhoods, towns, and cities. Hearing loss can make it more difficult or impossible to have these casual conversations with people in the neighborhood, at stores, or at community centers. Without these general relationships that let us know we are connected in the world, we can start to feel alone. That feeling of isolation is not due to hearing loss, but some people let that feeling of isolation escalate into other mental health concerns, such as anxiety or depression.
With these many ways that hearing loss can interfere with your relationships, the time is now to seek a solution. Getting treatment for hearing loss can resolve many of these problems, forming a bond between you and your closest loved ones and the community at large. Even the practical issues that can arise from untreated hearing loss can be resolved through treatment, so why not get started in that direction today? When you begin with a hearing test, we can diagnose your individual condition and recommend the right hearing aids to meet your needs. Taking that first step toward treatment is not only a benefit to your health and wellness, but it can also benefit your relationships.