People with hearing loss often shy away from social gatherings and events involving large crowds. Hearing loss can be an isolating and embarrassing condition and people with hearing loss often feel uncomfortable and out of place being unable to hear what is going on and constantly having to ask others to repeat themselves. You no longer need to avoid your next family event just because of your hearing loss. Read on to see what you can do to enjoy yourself without worrying about your hearing problem.
Keeping yourself trapped at home because of your hearing condition is definitely not the solution. In fact, people who suffer from hearing loss and social isolation tend to have higher rates of depression, anxiety, agoraphobia, and even resort to alcoholism. Their cognitive capacities diminish from lack of social communication, which can result in dementia.
Social gatherings mean multiple conversations going on simultaneously, which can make it difficult to focus on just one. People with hearing loss often miss the punch line of a joke they never heard, but feel the need to laugh just to fit in with the rest. Now you can change this awkward situation by asking your host to have you seated at the middle of the table so that you can hear what is going on at both ends instead of straining to hear from a far corner of the table.
Hearing impaired individuals often rely on social cues to tell them how to react in any given situation. If everyone at the table is smiling after someone says something, you automatically join in and do the same. When people raise their glasses, you follow suit because you understand that it’s probably in response to a toast. These subtle but helpful cues can aid in keeping you feeling involved.
You can choose to sit with a dinner buddy who is aware of your hearing problem and can assist you when it comes to keeping you involved in conversations. They can help repeat what others are saying to you and can also help keep you company. If you feel uncomfortable with the idea of depending on someone else to be a part of a social gathering, you can take control of your hearing loss and talk to an audiologist about obtaining hearing aids.
A hearing care professional will be able to help you get fitted with an ideal pair of hearing aids geared towards your unique hearing needs. A simple hearing test will reveal the type of hearing loss that you have and what type of hearing aids you might benefit from. Do not delay; the longer you wait, the more you miss out on your life and put yourself at risk for physiological and psychological damage.
Hearing aids are the ultimate solution to total independence when it comes to hearing loss holding you back. You no longer have to rely only on social cues or other people to help you out. You can take back control of your own life and actually hear the punch line of jokes and know exactly when to nod or raise your glass. Here’s to regaining your life through the use of hearing aids. Let’s raise a toast to the proactive steps you can take to help you get back into being the life of the party. Don’t let your hearing loss cause you to miss out on the most important occasions of your life.