She Isn’t Faking It: 4 Signs a Loved One Should Get a Hearing Aid
Denial is a typical first response. Of course, my loved one’s hearing loss isn’t as advanced as it seems. She’s too young to require a hearing aid.
It’s possible, the both of you have started to kid around with one another about it. She is always requesting that you repeat what you said. You joke about it as if it’s simply a game. But it’s beginning to become less and less funny. You wonder if she’s just disregarding you or if she may actually be having some legit hearing trouble.
It’s time to be supportive and make certain your loved one receives the care they need to keep living a happy, healthy, active lifestyle well into their senior years.
Here are 4 prevalent signs that someone you know needs a hearing aid.
1. She’s more drained than usual particularly when you go out
You may believe it’s simply an indication of aging. Your loved one really 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 begin to think that something isn’t right when she begins skipping meetings with clubs, organizations, and hobby groups she’s always enjoyed. Loud noise seems to sap your loved one’s energy. If there is lots of background noise, or if more than one conversation is happening simultaneously, this is particularly true.
Individuals who are straining to hear put excess energy toward understanding people around them. As a result, energy is transferred from other important brain functions like physical movement, memory, and speaking.
Utilizing this additional brainpower doesn’t strengthen the brain; it just makes it tired. Your loved one will often seem to shut down with exhaustion in social settings.
If you aren’t personally experiencing the same thing, don’t presume you can relate to what she’s dealing with. Her feelings might be the result of numerous factors. But ask questions. Get to the underlying cause and suggest that she get a hearing test.
2. She always turns the TV up too loud
Frequently, you will identify this symptom first. They can’t seem to watch TV or listen to music at a healthy volume.
Your living room sounds like a movie theater. You feel like you should have some popcorn, but it’s just your loved one blowing your ears out with the TV. You can even hear it from outdoors.
When you say that the TV is too loud, she might laugh and turn it down. But actually, she turned closed captions on.
Perhaps she’s embarrassed about it. It’s probably time for you to recommend a hearing test if this is a regular thing.
3. She frequently needs people to repeat themselves
If you’re in a really loud environment like a concert or theater or she’s really concentrated on a movie, then it may be nothing. If it’s occurring 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 annoyed because she thinks people are talking too quietly or mumbling? Is she requesting that people repeat themselves? If so, it’s time to have that loving conversation about how much more enjoyable life is with hearing aids.
4. You’re feeling a rift in the relationship
Researchers have discovered that couples, where one has hearing loss, have about 50% more arguments. These arguments may be about TV volume, misunderstandings, or what one claims the other person may or may not have said.
When somebody can’t hear, there will be much more stress in a household. Their hearing loss is stressful. And their refusal to seek out help is stressful to others. 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 reason. It’s important to get the proper help because even moderate hearing loss can strain relationships.
Whether it’s a friend, sibling, or partner, you can get new perspective on your relationships by getting a simple hearing test. Inspire 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. Normally, they wish they would have done it sooner. Their overall quality of life will be greatly improved.
It can be a challenging conversation to have. But when your loved one finally finds the help they need 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!