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It’s all too common to underestimate hearing loss. About 80 percent of hearing loss cases can be treated with hearing aids, but only one in four individuals who could benefit actually use them. By understanding the severe effects of hearing loss on your daily mood, we hope more people to take their hearing health more seriously. What begins as an ear issue soon affects how you communicate, causing rifts in relationships and feelings of anger, frustration, anxiety, isolation, and depression.
Anger and Frustration
Hearing loss often lends itself to frustration. What begins as the loss of certain tones or pitches can quickly unfold into the loss of entire words in sentences. It’s common to ask people to repeat themselves more often than not and this can be extremely exhausting. Its common for people to tire of asking for clarification in favor of pretending they’ve heard what was said. This however only exasperates feelings of confusion and loss of connection. Relationships which you’ve maintained for years with friends, co-workers, family member and even significant others become strained. This can manifest as angry outbursts due to unresolved anger and loneliness.
Anxiety and Worry
Constant communication issues can lead to chronic anxiety. You miss what someone says, and you don’t want to interrupt the entire situation just because you didn’t hear again. This can be especially taxing at work, where you may begin to miss more and more important details. Everyone makes mistakes, but as this becomes more of a regular occurrence it can affect the way coworkers and employers come to rely on you. You may suspect it’s hearing loss, but to others it may appear as disinterest – like you aren’t paying attention or you just are not invested in your job. This is sure to increase stress each day you work but relief often doesn’t come from your home life.
The same communication issues come home with you, causing conflict and misunderstanding. When you struggle with unaddressed hearing loss, confusing social interactions are causing you to release cortisol in your brain, the stress chemical. Cortisol is essential for giving you the adrenaline you need for fight or flight situations but when your body is constantly releasing cortisol it can cause chronic health issues such as high blood pressure Sleep problems, weight gain. memory issues, concentration impairment, and in extreme instances heart attack and stroke.
Depression and Isolation
One issue with hearing loss is that it often is difficult to self-diagnose. It often starts subtly so you don’t even realize how far it has progressed. This makes it difficult to even see the root of the issue. Instead, what is left is a depleted quality of life where you may have anxiety social interactions even with the people you’ve known for years. Before you know it you are excusing yourself from as many social situations as you possibly can to avoid the stress, frustration and exhaustion which conversing has become. Humans are social creatures and rely on our connection with other to help us feel connected, included, and loved. When we don’t receive the intimacy and social interaction, we need it can lead to chronic depression. The CDC has even likened chronic loneliness to a similar health risk as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
Taking Action Around Hearing Loss
While 90% of all cases of hearing loss are irreversible that doesn’t mean there isn’t hope. The most common treatment for hearing loss are hearing aids which amplify sounds so you can connect to the people and the life you love. Hearing aids give you the opportunity to start to heal rifts which have formed over years of poor communication and allow you to try new things which you may have been reluctant in the past to try.
If you suspect that you, or someone you love has a hearing loss it is important to resist the common instinct to put off treatment. The longer you go without addressing a hearing loss the greater impact it has on relationships, mood, cognitive functioning, mobility, and risk of accidents. Take the leap now and schedule an appointment for a hearing exam today. Your mood and sense of well-being may just depend upon it.