Your partner might have started getting annoyed at you because you never seem to listen. You notice that you need to have your music, or the TV on much louder than you used to. Often you find it hard to listen to other people talking and to follow the conversation entirely.
It can be tiring losing your hearing. You may not even know it’s happening for quite some time; during which time you might find that friends, families and partners have grown frustrated with you.
Hearing loss affects over 5% of the world’s population.. For many, they can be born with it. But for some, it may develop over time. It may be that you have worked for long periods in noisy environments such as in factories or nightclubs. For some, it comes with age.
Many people assume that the latter is the leading cause as one in three people over the age of sixty-five suffer from the loss of hearing; however, it is a problem that can affect anyone.
The first thing to realise is that if you are suffering from hearing loss, it does not mean that it is the end of you being able to hear.
What To Do If You Start To Notice Hearing Loss?
If you do worry that you are always asking people to repeat themselves, then it is probably time to think about doing something about it.
The first thing to consider is that you may not be losing your hearing; you may have a lot of wax buildup in your ears. You can get your ears syringed by a doctor, or you can use ear candles to melt away the wax.
If you are concerned that the problem might be something more long-term, then you should get yourself a hearing test. There are many hearing test centres available on the high-street, although if none are available, speak to your doctor for a recommendation of the best course of action to take.
What Next?
If your tests suggest that you have a noticeable reduction in your hearing, you may want to consider affordable hearing aids.. Many hearing aids are subtle and unobtrusive these days and can provide you with a great deal of improvement on the sounds you can hear.
The Emotional Hurdles
It can definitely be hard to lose your hearing. It may feel like it has happened to early and you may worry that you might not be able to enjoy music anymore, or engage in conversations with people like you used to. You may be scared of never hearing the voice of a loved one anymore.
One of the most important things that you can do is to reach out to somebody for support. This might mean talking to a friend or family member or joining a support group.
Avoid Pretending
You’ve asked somebody to repeat themselves, and then you didn’t catch it the second time around. It can feel embarrassing to have to keep asking people to say something again. Sometimes it is easier to just pretend that you heard the other person and carry on. It saves any awkwardness and the frustration from the other person when they have to keep saying the same thing over and over again.
However, it really is not helpful. It can be quite harmful for your relationships if you find that you are having to ignore people to just keep them quiet. They will eventually learn that you are not listening to them, and while it may not be your fault, this can be upsetting to them.
If you did not hear something, ask if they can say it louder, slower and more precise. You owe it to the person you are talking to, to be fully engaged in your conversation with them.
Learn To Lip Read
There are many ways that you can adapt to hearing problems. You can ask friends to look directly at you when they speak so that you can hear them better. You might want to develop your ability to lip read. You could also look at ways of reading other people’s body language as a way of helping you.
Get help with your hearing loss problem early. Make sure that you get into good habits when it comes to communicating with others in order to make life easier for yourself and for your loved ones. Overcoming the stress of losing your hearing can be hard, but with the right planning and consideration, it can be made much easier.
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