Helping Someone with Hearing Loss

Helping Someone with Hearing Loss?

Symptoms are often noticed by close friends and family first…

Hearing loss, unless caused by a health condition or accident, deteriorates gradually and can be difficult for an individual to realize at first, often the symptoms of hearing loss are noticed by surrounding friends and family first.

Can you recognise the signs?

When considering someone you know, would you answer yes to any of the following questions?

Do they complain that everyone seems to be mumbling?
Do they have to strain to hear when someone talks?
Are you often ignored when you initiate a conversation with them?
Do they listen to the TV or radio at an unusually loud level?
Do they complain that people are mumbling when they talk on the phone?
Do they miss a lot of the dialogue when going to the theatre, cinema, or other entertainment venues?
Do they often ask you to repeat things?

Despite the difficulties, encouraging an open and honest conversation is an important step for someone suffering with hearing difficulties.

Being There For Someone With Hearing Loss

Talking to someone about their hearing can be very confronting, and depending on your relationship, you may be met with denial and/or hostility. Grief is a natural response to loss, and a person will grieve the losing / loss of hearing as much as any other body function. Grief is not just one feeling but a group of feelings. These are some common grief emotions associated with hearing loss:

Denial
Anger
Guilt
Fear
Sadness
Confusion

Without encouraging your loved one to talk about their hearing difficulties, they can find ways to compensate for their hearing loss by blaming others for mumbling or talking too softly. Try to control conversations by doing most of the talking (requires less listening) or withdrawing from social activities to avoid strain, embarrassment and fatigue.

Can You Help Someone Cope With A Hearing Loss?

The short answer is YES! With your patience, support and understanding you can help someone cope with hearing loss. There can be a number of factors that will affect individuals differently in their ability to cope with hearing loss, these include:

Social support from family and friends
Educational background
Economic status
Age
Work demands
Religious beliefs and customs
Additional health issues

The bottom line is, helping someone with their journey toward better hearing requires patience and support. For professional help contact Total Hearing and Health. Our team have helped many Australians transition from hearing difficulties to supported devices, and are happy to help with any questions or concerns you have about a loved one.

Concerned, Arrange A Hearing Assessment

Take the first step to better hearing for your loved one and organise a professional hearing test. Hearing assessments take less than an hour and are completely painless. We encourage people to bring a friend or loved one for support.

You can book in for a hearing test by calling our office on 1300 415 718 or via our online form.

Helping Someone with Hearing Loss