Hearing loss is one of the most common health problems affecting Americans today. About 12.7% of the population has at least mild hearing loss in both ears—defined as 25 dBHL (decibels hearing level) or more of loss at speech frequencies.
Hearing loss becomes even more common in age groups above 60. About a third of those aged 65–74 have hearing loss, and about half of those above 75 have it. Nearly 100% of centenarians have hearing loss, suggesting we will all experience it eventually, if we live long enough!
While protecting our hearing around loud sounds—above 85 dBA (decibels A-weighted)—is important, it’s not the whole picture of hearing loss. Even those who fastidiously protect their hearing and avoid loud sounds can and do experience hearing loss as they age.
The most important thing, once hearing loss becomes an issue, is to treat it with hearing aids. Hearing loss cuts off our brain’s access to important environmental information and can set off a cascade of negative outcomes for our health and well-being.
Not least among these is the effect that hearing loss can have on our relationships. While it may seem obvious, it’s hard to overstate just how deeply hearing loss can affect the way we relate to one another.
Hearing Loss Reduces Connection
Of course, hearing loss makes it more difficult to hear what others are saying. Especially in groups, speech can turn into a jumble of indistinguishable human-ish sounds. Trying to parse what is being said is exhausting and nigh on impossible. Our brains go into overdrive, trying to put together sentences out of broken bits of understood speech and context clues. The process can be maddening and quickly lead to fatigue.
With normal hearing—or hearing aided by hearing aids—speech is understood automatically in our brain’s auditory cortex. This effortless hearing lets us focus on those around us more easily, engaging our brain in the process of connecting with others. This is crucial to our emotional well-being in friendships, partnerships, and social gatherings.
Even mild hearing loss undercuts our connections with others because our brain is overly involved in trying to understand what they’re saying, rather than how to interact. We only have so much bandwidth, and our relationships are better served by using that bandwidth to focus on the conversation, rather than the nuts-and-bolts of each sentence.
Hearing Loss Strains Intimate Relationships
Over and over, you’ll hear about marriages and partnerships that have been strained by hearing loss. The interdependence involved in a healthy, intimate relationship can be drastically reduced when hearing loss comes into play. All too often, we think of hearing loss as only affecting the person who has it, but being close to a person with hearing loss becomes quite difficult.
Partners of those with hearing loss report feeling like an “interpreter.” They lament that restaurants and other destinations are chosen not for the quality of the experience they might offer, but for the absence of background sound. They notice that the richness and ease of communication that once flowed between them and their partner have been reduced to “yes” or “no” questions, and only the most necessary of topics.
Hearing Aids Can Help
Studies have found that a good set of hearing aids can go a long way toward restoring or maintaining the intimacy that is needed in a healthy partnership. While hearing aids may not sound the same as a “normal” pair of ears, they are very good at increasing the ability to comprehend speech.
This improvement will not only be felt in your closest relationships, but everywhere you go! Friendships can strengthen, pleasantries can be exchanged, and small talk can be effortless. Small talk sometimes gets a bad rap, but it’s the first step to more meaningful interactions, and the micro-connections we make with other people as we move through our day help us to feel safer, better, and happier overall.
Hearing loss is a normal part of aging for many people. While untreated hearing loss can have dramatic and damaging effects on our relationships, mental well-being, and even our physical health, it doesn’t have to be that way. A good set of hearing aids can help us to stay connected with friends, family, and partners, and to live our lives almost as though hearing loss were not an issue at all.
If you or a loved one is living with untreated hearing loss, take the best step you can take and make an appointment for a hearing test today!