 |
|
Home
Home > How to Cope With Hearing Loss
How to Cope With Hearing Loss
There’s plenty of help out there—don’t isolate yourself
Linda Dunkle of Hamburg remembers when her father, a heavy equipment operator, began to lose his hearing. “Before he was 50, he started withdrawing from conversations. But he was a proud man and never wanted us to know he had a problem,” says Dunkle, a retired nurse. “I realize now how much he was missing.”
Today, her father is 81 and wears two hearing aids. He still struggles with his hearing, turning up the volume on the television and missing much of what is said to him. In recent years, Dunkle’s 52-year-old brother also developed hearing loss and, like his father, doesn’t acknowledge the problem. He refuses to wear a hearing aid.
Hearing loss affects some 28 million Americans over age 3, and the most common reason is nerve damage to the inner ear, says ear-nose-throat specialist Thomas Koch, M.D., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. This damage can be caused by infections, injuries, medication and noncancerous tumors, and smokers are at a higher risk for hearing loss. But usually, the cause is a combination of aging and genes.
“If you have a family history of hearing loss, you’re more likely to develop it. Prolonged exposure to loud noise can speed up the process,” Koch says. “Unlike some other hearing problems, age-related hearing loss happens gradually. Many people don’t notice it until others tell them.”
Even when people are told they have hearing loss, they’re often reluctant to accept it, says Koch’s colleague, psychologist Mary Kaland, Ph.D. Kaland lost her own hearing and has cochlear implants, tiny electronic devices surgically placed under the skin behind the ears. Different from hearing aids, cochlear implants are used for those who’ve lost at least half their hearing.
“Some people feel ashamed, so they hide their hearing loss and blame it on other things. Others are fearful because they see it as another sign of aging,” Kaland says. “But if you don’t get help, your quality of life suffers. You miss important information, and that affects how you make decisions and interact with family, friends and co-workers.”
The first step to address the problem is talking with your family doctor. “Don’t assume hearing loss is just due to aging,” says geriatrician Thomas Brislin, D.O., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “Sometimes the cause is simply too much earwax, and we’re able to flush it out and restore normal hearing.” Your doctor also can determine if you have an infection that can be treated or a physical problem that can be repaired surgically.
Your doctor may refer you to an ear-nose-throat specialist or an audiologist, a professional who can test your hearing and fit you with a hearing aid. Today’s hearing aids are much smaller and available in a range of styles, Brislin says. “Many people remember their grandparents’ bulky hearing aids, but today’s models work and look better.”
While hearing aids can help, they don’t restore normal hearing. Kaland offers these strategies for everyday coping:
For the hearing-impaired person
-
Sit front and center in church, theaters and other public places. Ask about hearing assistance devices.
-
Focus on the person talking to you. If one ear is better than the other, turn that ear toward the speaker.
-
If you’re going to a party or other location with background noise, bring a buddy who’s willing to help you follow the conversation.
-
Consider amplifiers or earphones (available in electronics stores) for your television and phone.
-
Be positive. Remember that hearing loss is common and is not a sign of weakness or lack of intelligence.
-
If you’re depressed or having trouble, seek help. People with hearing loss often grow isolated, or expend so much energy trying to hear that they get tired easily.
For friends and family
-
Get your loved one’s attention with a gentle touch on the shoulder.
-
Place yourself where she can see you, and make sure windows or bright lights are behind her so she’s not fighting a glare when looking at you.
-
Speak directly to her. Many hearing-impaired people, whether or not they’re aware of it, have learned to lip-read.
-
Speak slowly, but don’t overdo it. Overemphasis makes it harder to follow your lips.
-
Give visual clues, such as gestures, to what you’re saying.
-
If the person doesn’t understand you, try saying it a different way. There may be certain sounds she doesn’t pick up.
-
Don’t yell. Shouting makes it harder for a hearing-impaired person (especially with a hearing aid) to understand you.
-
Be supportive and make an effort to include your loved one.
This page last updated 2/12/08 04:08 PM
|
|
|
