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If you live with hearing loss, then you know how exhausting it can be at times. An everyday conversation which may have been fun and playful is suddenly a source of stress as you struggle to hear parts of words and words in sentences. You may find yourself pretending to hear what was said or misinterpreting, leading to further anxiety as social interactions progress.
If hearing loss is affecting your relationships and contributing to chronic anxiety, you are not alone! Often misconstrued as a condition only affecting older adults, in truth one in eight people in the United States (13 percent, or 30 million) aged 12 years or older struggles with hearing loss in both ears, based on standard hearing examinations. With this in mind it’s important to take any clues you may have hearing loss seriously. Untreated hearing loss can instigate a wide array of social, emotional, cognitive and physical conditions including chronic fatigue and lower social interactions.
What is Listen Fatigue?
Hearing loss often occurs gradually over years. It’s often consonants which start to become less clear first. A “b” may be heard as a “v”, “c” or “d”. An “f” may be misheard as an “s” or “sh”. This might not seem like a big deal, but you’d be surprised how fast this can lead to regular misunderstandings, mistakes and confusion every time you engage in conversation. You are tasked with having to listen more carefully to make out speech, still with frustrating results. The impact of this can make a social situation which used to be nourishing to your heart and soul to be wrought with unresolved feelings of loneliness.
The stress of hearing loss adds up overtime. You may find yourself excusing yourself from parties and family gatherings in order to avoid the embarrassment and exhaustion of struggling to hear. The impacts of hearing loss are particularly severe for people who were previously social on a regular basis. As social interactions become more difficult to navigate it is common for a previously social person to withdraw into depression and self-isolation.
Study Finding that Treating Hearing Loss May Lessen Fatigue.
Are you feeling exhausted after social interactions and feeling like you’d rather skip out on the next gathering? The good news is that there is hope. A Scottish study explored the positive impact of regular hearing aid use for people struggling with decreased socialization and fatigue. Hearing aids are electronic devices which sit near or in your ear and help to amplify the sounds you struggle with based on a hearing exam. The Scottish study found that people who start using hearing aids experience less fatigue and experience an increase in social activities.
The two groups of participants
To come to their results the study collected 106 participants between 18 and 75-years-old with self-reported hearing difficulties and using hearing aids for the first time. A separate control group in the study had to have self-reported hearing difficulties and not start using hearing aids. Hearing aid users in the study self-reported results of hearing aid use at 2 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months post fitting.
As hearing aid users in the study continued use, they began to report promising results including significantly reduced fatigue from listening, increased social activity levels, and an increased ability to participate in social activities in comparison to those with hearing loss who did not start using hearing aids.
Schedule a Hearing Consultation Today!
If you have suspected you are struggling with hearing loss, it’s important to act quickly. You may be experiencing decreased enjoyment of social activities, and greater fatigue and not even realize that a hearing impairment is the source. If you are 60 or older, we recommend that you test your hearing annually. However, hearing loss can happen at any age for various reasons. You may be exposed to noise in the workplace, at home, impact to the head, certain medications, long term conditions such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease or even chronic ear infections. Get ahead of hearing loss! We can diagnose the extent of your hearing loss and determine the most effective treatment to keep you feeling energetic and engaged in the life you love. Schedule your next hearing exam with us today!