The Psychological Effects Of Living With Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is more common than you think. In fact, it is believed that over 48-million Americans are living with some level of hearing loss, from mild to profound. However, not everyone seeks treatment immediately, and estimates suggest many people wait for around seven years after starting to lose their hearing before seeking treatment or getting a hearing test.

The issue with waiting so long for treatment for hearing loss is the effect it can have on other areas of your life and your health. Specifically, your mental health. Our bodies are intricate and complex, and hearing loss doesn’t just affect your ability to hear. It can have profound effects on your mental and physical health too.

Hearing loss and Psychological Distress

Hearing loss has long been associated with psychological distress and has links to poor mental health, social exclusion, incident commodities and poor self-perceived health. Psychological distress is defined as emotional disturbance where a person has feelings of anxiety and depression and struggles through periods of distress or harmful situations.

Is There a Connection Between the Two?

Many studies have been undertaken in recent years, such as one by the National Council on Aging in 2015 of a group of 2,304 seniors found that those who didn’t wear hearing aids or seek treatment for hearing loss were 50% more likely to experience feelings of sadness or depression. The seniors in the study who had not sought treatment, anger, frustration, depression and anxiety were all exhibited during the study.

A 2017 study conducted in three hospitals in Lahore comprised 200 adults, 100 women and 100 men aged 53 to 89. Each participant had hearing loss. This study found that emotional distress was higher in men with a hearing impairment than in women. It concluded that psychological distress was indeed linked to hearing loss; however, it was more likely to affect men than women, most likely due to their perceived role as being the breadwinner of the family. The reduced ability to live up to this standard due to hearing loss contributed to increased symptoms of depression.

How Does Hearing Loss Affect Mental Health?

It has long been known that hearing loss contributes to reduced mental health. And the data identified in this article backs up previous data collected to support this viewpoint. When a person is experiencing hearing loss, they can go through many changes to their lifestyle, which will impact their physical and emotional well-being. Regardless of the level of hearing loss they are experiencing, it can be incredibly isolating. Not being able to hear the world as you did previously can lead to changes in behavior to accommodate the hearing loss.

Not being able to listen to conversations in loud environments, not hearing people talking if you aren’t looking at them, being unable to lip read in the scenarios and turning the TV louder are all signs someone has hearing loss. For the person in question, it can be worrying or embarrassing. This can lead to them shutting themselves away socially, declining social activities, staying home away from family and friends more and generally becoming more isolated.

Over time this will impact their social and physical health due to reduced contact with others and increased sedentary periods.

Improving Psychological Health with Hearing Aids

The main reason for people not seeking treatment for hearing loss is they are unaware the issue is bad: for many, the loss will be incremental and happen over a long period of time, meaning they slowly adjust to the loss rather than suddenly being impacted by a much higher level of loss at once. Feelings of embarrassment, being unsure or knowing of the treatment available to them are also barriers to seeking help.

Not everyone experiencing hearing loss is aware of the extent of the loss they have and, as is especially true in the older population, not aware this is something they can have treatment for rather than live with.

Visiting an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor to discuss your hearing can help you learn more about your options when living with hearing loss and the best treatment. Your ENT doctor will conduct a hearing test and determine if you need a hearing aid or medical treatment. Hearing aids have long been used in patients to regain hearing by amplifying sounds into the ear. This can give patients a better quality of life and go some way toward reversing the signs of psychological distress brought on by hearing loss.

If you are worried you have hearing loss and want to talk to someone about it to speak with ENT Specialists. Call us today at call (402) 983-9948.