Denial is a typical first reaction. My loved one must be just making it seem like their hearing loss is more severe than it actually is. She’s not old enough to need a hearing aid.
Maybe, it’s become a joke between both of you. 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 humorous. You wonder if she’s simply disregarding you or if she might actually be having some legit hearing trouble.
It’s time to be supportive and make sure your loved one receives the care they need to continue to live a happy, healthy, active life even into their senior years.
Here are 4 common indications that someone you know needs a hearing aid.
1. She’s more tired than usual particularly when you go out
Maybe you think that it just ordinarily occurs when you get older. Your loved one just doesn’t have as much energy as they used to. When she says she isn’t feeling like going out tonight, you try to understand.
You really start to suspect that something isn’t right when she starts skipping meetings with clubs, organizations, and hobby groups she’s always enjoyed. Loud noise seems to sap your loved one’s energy. This is particularly true if they’re in a situation where there’s more than one conversation happening, or there’s a lot of background noise.
Additional energy is required to hear and understand what people are saying when someone is dealing with hearing problems. Consequently, energy is taken from other important brain functions like physical mobility, memory, and talking.
This use of extra energy is actually fatiguing the brain not strengthening it. Your loved one will frequently seem to shut down with exhaustion in social situations.
If you’re not going through the same thing, don’t presume you can relate to what she’s dealing with. It may be a combination of things. In order to get to the bottom of the problem, ask her questions and advocate for a hearing test.
2. She always turns the TV up too loud
This is often one of the first indications that you may perceive in another person. Whenever they play music or watch TV, they crank it up very loud.
Your living room sounds like a cinema. You feel like you should make 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 might laugh and lower the volume. Then you realize that she just switched on the captions.
She might not want to acknowledge that she really can’t hear the TV. If this is happening a lot, it might be time for you to recommend a hearing test.
3. She says, “What?”… a lot
If you’re in a really loud environment like a concert or movie theater or she’s really concentrated on a movie, then it may be nothing. But you should be mindful if this is happening often.
Furthermore, if she’s struggling to hear phone calls you should pay attention.
Is she always annoyed because she thinks people are talking too quietly or muttering? Is she asking people to repeat themselves? If so, it’s time to have that loving discussion about how much better life is with hearing aids.
4. Your relationship is feeling tense
Researchers have found that couples, where one is dealing with hearing loss, have about 50% more arguments. These quarrels may center around TV volume, misconceptions, or what one says the other person did or didn’t say.
When somebody can’t hear, there will be a lot more stress in a household. They get frustrated about their hearing loss. Others get upset when they won’t go in for help. This leads to lots of hurt feelings and decisions to spend more time apart and alone.
This can cause permanent harm to the relationship and the couple frequently doesn’t even realize that hearing loss is the cause. Even moderate hearing loss can strain a relationship, so it pays to get it checked out.
Simply getting a hearing test can give you a completely new perspective on your relationship, whether you’re talking about a spouse, sibling, or dear friend. Inspire your loved one to schedule an appointment.
Individuals who discover they need hearing aids and wear them say they’d never go back. Usually, they wish they wouldn’t have waited so long. They feel healthier, happier, and more active.
It can be a difficult talk to have. But when your loved one finally gets the help they require it will all have been worth it.
Call us right away and let us help you with some ideas about how to address your loved one’s hearing loss!