It's frustrating when you live with someone that has a hearing loss! Having to repeat something over and over before you are understood, can fray the nerves. Countless arguments happen because of misunderstandings or out of sheer frustration when trying to be understood.
Ask any happy couple what are the secrets to a successful marriage, and chances are that "communication" will be on the list.
Degraded communications from hearing loss does not bode well for successful relationship.
A recent study revealed that hearing loss can severely effect relationships The survey, of 1,500 hearing-impaired people over 55 revealed that:
- Almost one in two (44% of people) said that relationships with their partner, friends or family had suffered because they can't hear properly.
- A third (34%) have lost touch with friends, and in some cases seen marriages fall apart, as a direct result of the breakdown in communication caused by hearing loss.
- Two thirds (69%) said their hearing loss seriously hinders their ability to take part in everyday conversations with friends and family, causing 52% of those surveyed to feel left out and ignored in social situations.
- Women (72%) were found to be more affected by social exclusion because of hearing loss than men
- Almost half (49%) said that losing their hearing is the worst thing about growing old.
- Even more respondents (65%) indicated they feel annoyed when their significant other cannot hear them.
- 45% indicated that their spouse doesn't appear to hear chore requests, 78% are sure the hard-of-hearing partner can hear them - talk about selective hearing.
A normal conversation is spontaneous. When a spouse says, "Look at that" and has to repeat it several times, they will finally get to, "Never mind". Conversations can become limited over time, with very short answers losing the richness, the flow and even the humor. A loss of intimacy begins to happen and there can be a sense of loneliness for the husband and wife.
We all know that hearing loss can make it harder to maintain good communications, and that relationships can suffer if care isn't taken to keep the lines of communications open.
The best way to treat hearing loss is, of course, with hearing aids.
