Denial is a common first response. My loved one must be just making it seem like their hearing loss is more severe than it actually is. She’s too young to require a hearing aid.
Perhaps, it’s become a joke between the two of you. She is always asking you to repeat what you said. It’s just a game. You laugh about it. But this game is getting old quickly. You’re starting to think that perhaps your partner, brother, or parent is either ignoring you or really having trouble hearing.
It’s time to be supportive and make certain your loved one gets the care they need to continue to live a happy, healthy, active life well into their older age.
If someone you know needs hearing aids they will probably be exhibiting these 4 prevalent signs.
1. She’s more drained than usual particularly when you go out
You might believe it’s just a sign of getting older. Your loved one really doesn’t have as much energy as they once did. You try to understand when she says that she’s not going out tonight.
You really start to suspect that something isn’t right when she starts missing meetings with clubs, organizations, and hobby groups she’s always enjoyed. Your loved one’s energy seems to be drained by loud environments. If there is lots of background noise, or if more than one conversation is taking place at the same time, this is especially true.
Extra energy is required to hear and understand what people are saying when someone is struggling with hearing problems. Consequently, energy is taken from other essential brain functions like physical movement, memory, and speaking.
This use of extra energy is actually fatiguing the brain not strengthening it. In social situations, exhaustion will often seem to shut your loved one down.
Don’t assume you know what she’s experiencing. Her feelings might be attributable to numerous factors. But ask questions. Get to the base cause and suggest that she gets her hearing tested.
2. She watches the TV LOUD
Often, you will identify this symptom first. Whenever they listen to music or watch TV, they turn it up really loud.
Your living room sounds like a movie theater. You instantly get the impulse to make some popcorn, except you find that she’s just watching a reality show or documentary at a volume that almost blows your ears out. Your neighbors can even hear it.
She might turn it down when you inform her it’s too loud. Then you realize that she just turned on the captions.
She may not want to acknowledge that she actually can’t hear the TV. It’s probably time for you to suggest a hearing exam if this is a regular thing.
3. She often needs people to repeat what they said
It may not be an issue if you are in a very loud environment or she’s really zoned in on something. If it’s happening more often than that, pay attention.
Likewise, take notice if she seems to have a lot of trouble hearing when she’s using the phone.
Is she always aggravated because she thinks people are speaking too low or muttering? Does she frequently need people to repeat what they said? It’s time for a compassionate talk about the benefits of hearing aids.
4. Your relationship is feeling tense
Researchers have revealed that couples, where one has hearing loss, have about 50% more arguments. These arguments might center around TV volume, misconceptions, or what one says the other person did or didn’t say.
When someone can’t hear, there will be much more tension in a household. They get aggravated about their hearing loss. And their refusal to seek out help is frustrating to others. This brings about lots of hurt feelings and decisions to spend more time apart and alone.
This can lead to irreversible damage to the relationship and the couple frequently doesn’t even recognize that hearing loss is the reason. Even moderate hearing loss can strain a relationship, so it pays to get it checked out.
Whether it’s a friend, sibling, or partner, you can get new perspective on your relationships by getting a simple hearing test. Encourage your loved one to schedule an appointment.
If somebody has hearing loss, hearing aids can change their lives and most will state they would never go back. As a matter of fact, they regret they didn’t get them sooner. Their overall quality of life will be significantly enhanced.
It’s not a comfortable discussion to have. But the difficulty of this discussion is worth it when your loved one finally gets the assistance they need.
Need more practical ideas about how to address your loved one’s hearing loss? Call us right away!