Many facets of your daily life can be affected by Hearing Loss. Neglected hearing loss, for instance, can affect your professional life, your favorite pastimes, and even your relationships. Communication can become strained for couples who are coping with hearing loss. Animosity can develop from the increased tension and more frequent arguments. In other words, left unchecked, hearing loss can negatively affect your relationship in significant ways.
So, how does hearing loss impact relationships? In part, these tribulations arise because the parties are not aware of the hearing loss. Hearing loss typically is, after all, a gradually developing condition. Communication might be strained because of hearing loss and you and your partner might not even be aware it’s the root of the problem. Practical solutions might be hard to find as both partners feel more and more alienated.
Frequently, a diagnosis of hearing loss along with practical strategies from a hearing specialist can help couples begin communicating again, and better their relationships.
Can hearing loss impact relationships?
When hearing loss is in the early phases, it’s difficult to detect. Couples can have considerable misunderstandings because of this. The following common problems can develop because of this:
- Arguments: It’s not unusual for arguments to occur in a relationship, at least, occasionally. But when hearing loss is present, those arguments can be even more aggravating. Arguments can happen more often too. For others, an increase in arguments could be a result of changes in behavior (for example, boosting the volume on the television to painful volumes).
- Intimacy may suffer: In lots of relationships, communication is the foundation of intimacy. This can cause a rift to build up between the partners. Increased tension and frustration are often the consequence.
- Feeling ignored: When someone doesn’t respond to what you say, you’re likely to feel ignored. This can often happen when one partner is experiencing hearing loss and doesn’t know it. The long-term health of your relationship can be seriously put in jeopardy if you feel like you’re being ignored.
- Couples frequently mistake hearing loss for “selective hearing”: Selective hearing is what happens when someone hears “we’re having cake for dessert” very clearly, but somehow does not hear “we need to take out the garbage before we eat”. Sometimes, selective hearing is totally unintentional, and in others, it can be a conscious choice. One of the most common effects of hearing loss on a spouse is that they may begin to miss words or specific phrases will seem garbled. This can often be mistaken for “selective hearing,” leading to resentment and tension in the relationship.
In many cases, this friction starts to happen before any actual diagnosis of hearing loss. If someone doesn’t know that hearing loss is at the root of the problem, or if they are ignoring their symptoms, feelings of resentment could get worse.
Tips for living with someone who has hearing loss
How do you live with a person who is dealing with hearing loss when hearing loss can result in so much conflict? This will only be an issue for couples who aren’t willing to formulate new communication strategies. Some of those strategies include the following:
- Encourage your partner to come in for a hearing exam: Your partner’s hearing loss can be managed with our help. Many areas of stress will fade away and communication will be more successful when hearing loss is well controlled. In addition, managing hearing loss is a safety issue: hearing loss can effect your ability to hear the telephone, smoke detectors and fire alarms, and the doorbell. It might also be hard to hear oncoming traffic. We can help your partner better regulate any of these potential problems.
- Patience: When you’re aware that your partner is dealing with hearing loss, patience is particularly important. You might have to repeat yourself more often or vary the volume of your voice. It may also be necessary to talk in a slower cadence. The effectiveness of your communication can be substantially improved by exercising this type of patience.
- Help your partner get used to their hearing aids: This can consist of things like taking over tasks that cause significant stress (like going shopping or making phone calls). There also may be ways you can help your partner get used to their hearing aids and we can assist you with that.
- As much as you can, try to look directly into the face of the person you’re talking with: For someone who is dealing with hearing loss, face-to-face communication can give lots of visual cues. Your partner will be able to make use of facial cues and body language. And with increased eye contact it will be easier to maintain concentration. This provides your partner with more information to process, and that typically makes it easier to understand your intent.
- When you repeat what you said, try making use of different words: Typically, you will try to repeat what you said when your partner doesn’t hear you. But instead of using the same words over and over again, try to change things up. Hearing loss can impact some frequencies of speech more than others, which means certain words may be more difficult to understand (while others are easier). Changing your word choice can help reinforce your message.
What happens after you get diagnosed?
A hearing test is a relatively simple, non-invasive experience. In most instances, individuals who undergo tests will do little more than put on specialized headphones and raise their hand when they hear a tone. You will be better able to regulate your symptoms and your relationships after you get a diagnosis.
Encouraging your partner to get in touch with us can help guarantee that hearing loss doesn’t undermine your happiness or your partnership.