Everybody socializes slightly differently. Some people like to go out on the town in huge groups, while others prefer a quiet day in Windmill Park with one or two friends. Regardless of how you like to socialize, there’s no denying that hearing loss will affect the time you spend with your friends and family.
While it can be scary to think that something like hearing loss could impact your relationships, it’s crucial to remember that difficulty hearing doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a thriving social life. Let’s look at a few ways you may need to shift your socializing to accommodate your hearing loss and how hearing aids can make a difference.
1. You Will Need To Pay More Attention to Your Location
Even before you had hearing loss, you likely noticed that certain environments made understanding speech more difficult; a crowded bar is less conducive to conversation than your living room. Hearing loss can amplify that difficulty, sometimes making it seem almost impossible to understand your friends and family when background noise is too loud.
Moving forward, choose a location based on how much you expect to talk while you’re there. For example, if you want to go dancing, it’s probably all right to choose a noisy venue. If, however, you want to have a deep conversation with a friend, a coffee shop or park will suit you better.
2. You May Notice a Change in Energy
Hearing loss increases your likelihood of developing something we call listening fatigue—a phenomenon wherein you experience mental exhaustion from the extra effort it takes to understand speech.[1] When you make your social plans, you’ll need to consider where your energy levels will be when the plans come around. Try to space your plans so you won’t feel bogged down or tired by the end of each event.
3. You Will Need Communication Help Occasionally
When you struggle to understand someone, you might feel inclined to nod along and pretend you hear things you missed. That inclination is completely normal, but you should do your best to avoid it. Don’t be afraid to ask your friends to repeat themselves or add context so that you can better understand what they said. They’ll appreciate that you took the time to ask.
4. You Should Wear Hearing Aids
Hearing aids are the number one tool to help you communicate. Even if you have mild hearing loss, they can reduce misunderstandings, preserve your energy and help you stay socially active.
Hearing loss shouldn’t stop you from enjoying time with friends. If you haven’t taken the leap into hearing aids, contact Ear, Nose & Throat Consultants to discuss whether or not they can help you.
[1] American Academy of Audiology. (n.d.). Listening fatigue. American Academy of Audiology. [audiology.org]