Hearing is an integral part of our everyday lives. It affects how we talk, interact with others, and generally feel. Hearing also lets us connect with others and make sense of the world around us. Unfortunately, hearing might fade over time due to age or other factors, causing us to withdraw from social situations and increasing doubts about our values and confidence. On top of that, there is a stigma with using assistive devices like hearing aids, which creates an even bigger issue.
The fact of the matter is that everyone deserves to hear to their best potential, and it’s time to support those who need assistance to do so. The best way to do that is through education and encouragement, along with the help of an experienced team of hearing specialists. Continue reading to learn more about ways to help those with hearing loss overcome the stigma of hearing aids and improve their everyday lives.
The Importance of Hearing
One of the most essential things that hearing does is help people talk to each other. Hearing lets us talk to our family, friends, and coworkers, allowing us to form ties and get to know them better. With words, we can say what we’re thinking, share ideas, and show how we feel. Hearing the spoken word helps us understand and react correctly, making communication more effective and meaningful. Have you ever received a text or email and not understood what the person who sent it meant? That’s because you couldn’t hear their tone when they said it. Hearing helps us understand social cues like laughing, tone of voice, and intonation.
Hearing isn’t just for talking to people. It also tells us important things about our surroundings. From the sound of birds to the sound of cars coming up behind us, being able to hear lets us know about possible dangers, makes us safer, and lets us act in the right way. For example, a fire warning might tell us to leave a building, and a car horn might tell us to be careful when crossing the street.
Hearing also helps us see how beautiful and full the world is. The sound of leaves rustling, the sound of waves breaking, and the melody of music all add to our sensory experiences, making us feel things and enjoy life more. Hearing also helps us feel connected to nature by letting us hear the peaceful sounds of a babbling brook or the exciting sounds of a thunderstorm.
Now that you know everything that hearing does, let’s look at how hearing loss affects people, specifically as they age.
The Effects of Hearing Loss on Older People
As people get older, their chance of hearing loss increases, greatly affecting their lives. However, it’s more than just not hearing clearly. When it’s hard to hear, people often avoid social situations and spend less time with others. They may not even realize they’re isolating themselves until it’s already done, or it may be a conscious decision. Either way, it can have a devastating impact on seniors who are already spending more time on their own. This decrease can increase their feelings of loneliness and sadness while also causing their mental health to decline.
Studies have found a link between hearing loss and cognitive decline, such as a higher chance of Alzheimer’s and dementia. The theory behind the findings is that the mental resources normally used to process sounds are shifted when people no longer engage in social situations that require that type of processing. With this shift, it becomes harder to understand and remember things. Essentially it’s like most things in life. If you don’t use the skill, your ability to do so is greatly diminished.
The Stigma Behind Hearing Loss
Those with hearing loss are often fighting an uphill battle. On the one hand, society sometimes underestimates the problems people with hearing loss face and have the idea that they’re simply not smart enough. This thought can embarrass and anger those with hearing loss. For seniors, who are already struggling with the various changes that aging brings, it can make them feel embarrassed, ashamed, and alone.
Seniors may worry about being called “old” or “disabled,” which would reinforce negative ideas about them. To combat this, many older people will deny they are struggling to hear and turn their backs on using assistive devices for fear of increasing the stigma.
How Can We Turn the Stigma Around?
It is important to help older people with hearing loss and urge them to use hearing aids to improve their health and quality of life. Some ideas for giving them the support they need are listed below.
Regular Hearing Screenings: If you have an aging loved one, encourage them to get regular hearing screenings to find and fix any hearing loss quickly. Early diagnosis can stop hearing loss from getting worse and lessen the negative effects that come with it.
Access to Information and Resources: With the help of our team, seniors will learn about the different types of hearing aids, how they work, and what benefits they offer. This helps them make choices about their hearing health based on facts and introduces them to the many advancements made in hearing aids.
Create a hearing-friendly environment: Simple changes, like talking with them in a less crowded room, facing them while you’re talking, and speaking clearly, can all help people with hearing loss.
Assistive Listening Systems: Promoting captioning, induction loops, and other assistive listening systems can make it easier for people with hearing problems. These technologies help enable them to participate in a wide range of activities. Depending on the amount of hearing loss and their living situation, you may also need to discuss alternatives to doorbells and smoke detectors. These items, and many others, now exist to help those with hearing loss by using other forms of warning, like flashing lights.
Take the First Step to Decrease the Stigma Today
If we want to create a more accepting society, we need to understand how important hearing is in our daily lives and what hurdles seniors with hearing loss face. We can make it easier for seniors to get help, use hearing aids, and keep living full, connected lives by getting the word out, fighting stigma, and giving them support and tools. If you’re concerned about a loved one’s hearing or even your own hearing, talk with a member of our Hearing Associates of Las Vegas team today. We can provide state-of-the-art evaluations and explore all options for better hearing health.
info@hearingassociateslv.com
Leave a Reply