Many of us look forward to celebrating the holidays with loved ones at home or out for a special meal at Sparrow + Wolf. However, if you have hearing loss, you may struggle with feelings of isolation, loneliness and frustration this season.
Why Hearing Loss Makes the Holidays Harder
Hearing loss makes it harder to communicate with others because it impacts your ability to understand speech. It can be especially difficult to follow conversations in busy places or large gatherings where there is lots of background noise and multiple people talking at once.
This can cause you to feel disconnected during holiday events with your friends and family. You may even start to feel compelled to avoid social gatherings altogether. This isolation can lead to feelings of anxiety and depression, cause your relationships to suffer, and can even lead to cognitive decline.
Use Your Hearing Aids This Holiday Season
Thankfully, using hearing aids to treat your hearing loss can help you stay connected to those most important to you.
A recent study looked at two groups of people with hearing loss. One group was just beginning treatment with hearing aids, while the other left their condition untreated. Researchers found that after six months, “social activity level increased and social participation restriction decreased significantly after hearing aid fitting” for those who were treated with hearing aids.
Hearing aids can make it easier to connect with others and strengthen your relationships this holiday season and beyond in a variety of ways, including:
- Reduce miscommunication. Mistakes that come from not hearing or mishearing can cause a lot of frustration and annoyance for both people with hearing loss as well as their family members. Hearing aids enhance your ability to understand speech, reduce misunderstandings and strengthen relationships.
- Suppress background noise. Many newer hearing aids have settings that can reduce background noise while enhancing the speech of the person sitting in front of you, making it easier to follow conversations in louder environments.
- Ease tension. Hearing loss can increase feelings of anxiety, depression and general stress. When you feel more confident about your ability to hear and converse with others, you are naturally going to be more relaxed and able to tune in to conversations with your spouse or play games with your grandchildren without stress.
If you’ve been putting off making an appointment for a hearing test, consider taking the first step today. Give yourself the gift of connecting with your loved ones and call the experts at Nevada Ear + Sinus Institute to find the right pair of hearing aids to meet your needs.
Call Nevada Ear + Sinus Institute at (702) 735-7668 for more information or to schedule an appointment.