Explaining Hearing Loss to Your Loved Ones

Are you experiencing changes to your hearing? It’s possible that you have been diagnosed with a certain level of hearing loss. This is always going to lead to changes to your life. It is almost always the start of a new chapter and it might mean that you need to think about using hearing aids. If you are experiencing hearing loss, then it’s important to let people around you know that this is the case.

This will ensure that they are more understanding if you can’t quite hear them while they are speaking or need the volume on tech devices up a little higher. Let’s discuss some of the key points that you should think about when you are explaining hearing loss to your loved ones. 

Explain That It Doesn’t Hurt

When trying to explain hearing loss to loved ones, you need to make them understand that it does not hurt. This is one of the biggest, lingering fears that people have because they don’t fully understand what it’s like. They may be worried about you being in pain all the time, so you need to reassure them that this is not the case and that losing your hearing to any degree does not hurt. 

The only thing that might hurt is if there was a cause such as an ear infection or something that caused the hearing loss. But the loss itself does not cause you any discomfort.

Talk About Your Symptoms

Another thing that you should speak about is how you knew you were experiencing hearing loss. What were the symptoms you experienced, and what do you experience now? How long have they lasted? Do they get progressively worse?

How do you manage your symptoms? These are all things that your loved ones are going to want to know, and there is no reason to beat around the bush. We are all likely going to develop some kind of hearing loss in our lifetime, so it’s best to know what to expect and to hear it from someone that you love.

While it might be slightly uncomfortable at first to talk about your symptoms, it’s good of you to share your knowledge with your loved ones. Who knows, maybe one day they will recognize this in themselves and make an appointment with a hearing instrument specialist to get checked out, therefore, saving their hearing and preserving it for a little longer.

Speak About How You Cope

We mentioned briefly above that you should mention how you cope on a daily basis. For some people, it barely hinders them at all and some people struggle a little more. It’s okay if either one of these is true for you, or there is always help available. You can talk to your loved ones about the support from hearing instrument specialists to make your life as easy as possible. Hearing loss does not have to be a negative experience, especially seeing as most people don’t lose their hearing completely. 

Show Them How You Can Still Hear

Hearing loss doesn’t mean that you will no longer be able to hear. Once you speak to a hearing instrument specialist, you will be able to get the hearing aids you need. Hearing aids can ensure that you gain the same high quality of life that you once had before you started to experience any level of hearing loss. Children are often amazed by hearing aids and will want to learn all about them.

One of the best ways to help them understand hearing loss is to show them how hearing aids work and how they help you to hear more effectively. Letting people know you have hearing aids is also important as they will know that you won’t be able to fully hear unless they are switched on and operational. 

Always Be Honest

Finally, you need to make sure that you are honest with your loved ones. It’s important to let them know how you feel about your hearing loss and whether it is impacting you in any way. This is still going to be a significant change in your life and it’s great to have the right support. 

We hope this helps you understand some of the key steps that you should take when you are explaining your hearing loss to your loved ones. Remember, the important thing to keep in mind is letting them know that you are okay and that it’s not impacting you in the long term. If you are interested in learning more make sure that you reach out to a professional service such as Better Hearing of Madison County at (315) 693-3637. We can provide more information and ensure that you learn more about any hearing loss that you are experiencing.