What would be your most ideal day with the people you love most in life? Whether it is your significant other, your children or grandchildren, what activities do you most love to share with them? Do you love to travel to new cities, host dinner parties, go on long hikes in nature or stay at home cooking an intimate meal and snuggling on the couch watching a movie? When communication is clear and you are feeling able and present it is so much easier to participate in your favorite activities. However, It is inevitable that every day wont be perfect. When times are the most challenging are the times when your relationships with your loved ones are tested the most. How do you support one another when times are less than ideal?
Communication is Key
Communication is key to any relationship and learning to talk about your emotions and your needs as well as listen to the other is essential to navigate challenging times. Through good times and difficult, this is the thread that holds your valuable relationships together. When someone in a relationship is living with untreated hearing loss it is no surprise that communication can become strained and the health of your relationship begins to suffer. On a positive note there is an easy non-invasive treatment for hearing loss that is hearing aids. Numerous studies have proven that hearing aids have been used to counteract the negative effects of hearing loss. Its important to know that if you believe you do have a hearing loss you are not alone.
Hearing loss by the numbers
According to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), approximately 28.8 million adults in the United States could benefit from the use of hearing aids. It is estimated that currently over 48 million people in the United States suffer hearing loss. While hearing loss can often be prevented depending on your lifestyle and hearing health practices once your hearing is damaged there is not repairing your hearing to it’s original status. While hearing aids have been proven time and time again to improve people’s hearing and connectivity, sadly, only 1 out of 4 of the people who could benefit from these important devices actually wear them. There are many reasons why people who could benefit using hearing aids put off or find excuses not to wear them including, believing that hearing aids make them feel old, a poor fit, or a lack of patience of getting acquainted with the new technology. Regardless of the excuse, if you are someone who could benefit from hearing loss and are choosing not to use them, then you are putting your relationships at work, with friends and at home at serious risk.
Hearing Loss is Not Just and Ear issue
If untreated hearing loss was just about your ears that would be serious by itself, however not dealing with your condition can leave you feeling frustrated or lonely, alienated and opting out of social activities on a daily basis. When you cannot hear what is being said in group settings it is much more alluring to stay at home and daily chores that often hold our domestic relationships together stop being done together as communication becomes strained. It all boils down to the importance of our daily interactions no matter how small or trivial they may seem. These small moments of daily communication build intimacy and create moments of connection in relationships that are essential to keeping them strong.
The Benefits of Hearing Aids
Hearing aids have been proven time and time again to not only improve how people hear but improve quality of life. When you can hear again while using hearing aids you can continue to maintain the relationships that can make your life the most meaningful. When it really comes down to it, the small things that come along with good communication like long conversations, antidotes, stories, jokes, and hilarious situations that ultimately build strong meaningful relationships and make life worth living. Have your relationships been suffering because of untreated hearing loss? There is no reason to your let hearing hinder relationships. Seek treatment as soon as possible and get back to the life and the people you love.