It’s a normal first response – denial. Surely, my loved one’s hearing loss isn’t as bad as it seems. She’s too young to need a hearing aid.
It’s possible, the two of you have begun to kid around with each other about it. Your loved one constantly asks you to repeat yourself. You joke about it as if it’s simply a game. But it’s starting to become less and less funny. You question whether she’s simply ignoring you or if she might actually be having some genuine hearing trouble.
It’s time to be supportive and make certain your loved one gets the care they need to keep living a happy, healthy, active life even into their senior years.
If somebody you know needs hearing aids they will probably be showing these 4 prevalent symptoms.
1. She appears to be exhausted, particularly in public
Maybe you think that it just ordinarily happens when you age. Your loved one really doesn’t have as much energy as they used to. You try to understand when she says that won’t be going out tonight.
Then she starts skipping meetings with a hobby group, organization, or club that she’s always enjoyed, even when they get together virtually, and you begin to recognize something may be wrong. Loud noise seems to deplete your loved one’s energy. This is especially true if they are in a situation where there’s more than one discussion going on, or there’s a lot of background noise.
People who are straining to hear put excessive energy toward understanding people around them. They frequently have to pull this energy from other functions in the brain such as memory, talking, and moving.
This use of extra energy is actually fatiguing the brain not strengthening it. In social situations, fatigue will often seem to shut your loved one down.
If you’re not personally experiencing the same thing, don’t presume you can relate to what she’s going through. Her feelings might be due to a number of factors. But ask questions. Get to the base cause and recommend that she gets her hearing tested.
2. She always turns the TV up too loud
Frequently, you will notice this symptom first. Whenever they play music or watch TV, they crank it up very loud.
You walk into the room, and it sounds like you’ve just entered a movie theater. You feel like you should have some popcorn, but it’s just your loved one blowing your ears out with the TV. Your neighbors can even hear it.
When you suggest that the TV is too loud, she may laugh and turn it down. But it turns out, she turned on closed captions.
She might not want to acknowledge that she really can’t hear the TV. If this is occurring a lot, it might be time for you to suggest a hearing exam.
3. She often needs people to repeat themselves
It may not be an issue if you are in a very loud setting or she’s really zoned in on something. If it’s occurring more frequently than that, pay attention.
Likewise, pay attention if she seems to have a lot of difficulty hearing when she’s on the phone.
Is she griping about people mumbling or talking low constantly? Does she regularly need people to repeat what they said? If so, it’s time to have that loving conversation about how much more enjoyable life is with hearing aids.
4. Your relationship is feeling strained
Researchers have discovered that couples, where one has hearing loss, have about 50% more arguments. They may argue about what one of them may or may not have said, the volume of the TV, or other misconceptions.
When someone can’t hear, there will be much more tension in a household. Their hearing loss is stressful. Others get upset when they won’t go in for help. This often results in people choosing to spend more time alone because of more hurt feelings.
Many couples don’t realize that hearing loss is the trigger, and this can damage their relationship irreparably. Even moderate hearing loss can strain a relationship, so it pays to get it checked out.
Whether it’s a friend, sibling, or spouse, you can get new perspective on your relationships by getting a simple hearing test. Inspire your loved one to schedule an appointment.
If someone has hearing loss, hearing aids can change their lives and most will say they would never go back. As a matter of fact, they regret they waited so long to get them in the first place. Their general quality of life will be greatly improved.
It can be a challenging talk to have. But the challenge of this conversation is worth it when your loved one finally gets the help they need.
Need more useful ideas about how to address your loved one’s hearing loss? Call us today!