Accepting Hearing Loss

You have been unable to hear for a while. You get the nagging sensation that you may have a hearing difficulty but seem to be unable to come to terms with this fact. Hearing loss can be a difficult reality to accept, but once you accept it, you will be able to take ownership of your situation and live life to the best of your ability.

Earlier diagnosis of hearing loss has a more positive prognosis. Do not delay getting your hearing tested if you fear you may have hearing loss. You will be able to get a number of treatment options and early diagnosis enables you to have a wider range of treatment methods. Untreated hearing loss can be taxing on the brain and can actually deteriorate our cognitive abilities, so do not take hearing loss lightly.

Hearing loss can hinder the functioning capacity of the brain since it receives less information and auditory sensory input than before. This can cause the brain to rewire itself to adapt to the lack of information signals coming from the ears, which can erode the auditory pathway.

Getting hearing aids to rectify smaller degrees of hearing loss can be easier and feel more “natural” than trying to rectify significant degrees of hearing damage. This is because once the brain reprograms itself, any artificial attempts to restore hearing will appear unnatural since the brain has learned to adapt with the hearing loss.

Damage to hearing not only affects our ears but our entire life. It affects the way we think, feel, and even affects the way we interact with others. Our relationships may deteriorate and our physiological health may suffer due to untreated hearing loss. Loss of hearing puts you at risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke, depression, and injuries due to falling. With so many negative consequences of not treating hearing loss, it would be imprudent to let this problem lurk in the corner.

The moment you accept the fact that you have hearing loss, your life changes for the better. You can seek social support and open up about your hearing difficulties. You may even find that your relationships change for the better after disclosing your hearing difficulty with your family. For example, your spouse who may have thought that you simply were not listening to her will now know that you were actually physically unable to hear her. Take proactive steps and get your hearing tested today to take back control of your life. Remember, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by treating your hearing loss.