The Psychological Impact of Hearing Loss and How to Cope

You may have recently learned that you’re one of 60 million Americans (The National Council on Aging) with a form of hearing loss. It is a significant life change with many far-reaching impacts. If you struggle to adjust and make sense of your diagnosis, read on for tips. You are not alone!

Types of Hearing Loss

Ranges of Loss

When you have a professional hearing test, you will receive an audiogram that shows the range of decibels you can hear. Hearing levels are normal, mild, moderate, severe, or profound. Those who are medically deaf have little residual hearing that can be aided. People who are hard of hearing have moderate to severe hearing loss. 

Causes of Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is caused by various factors, from genetics, earwax buildup, noise exposure, head injuries, or medication side effects to natural aging causes. There are three general categories of hearing loss: 

• conductive, 
• sensorineural, and 
• mixed. 

Conductive is damage to the outer or middle ear. Sensorineural involves the inner ear workings. Mixed hearing loss can be a combination of the previous two forms. 

The causes and type of hearing loss will determine the kind of and if hearing assistive technology can help you. Your hearing specialist will be able to explain more and provide you with information.

After the Diagnosis

After diagnosis, you may struggle with many different reactions. If your hearing loss is sudden and unexpected, the struggles may be overwhelming. The following may be a few reactions you will experience, and it’s all normal. 

Emotional Reactions

Anger and sadness are common reactions for many. You may also notice increased frustration as you attempt your typical routines but with greater difficulty. Some are surprised to experience five stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance –  as being deaf or hard of hearing changes everything in your daily life.

Social Impacts

Your family and friends can be a great source of support, or they may add to your frustrations. Relationships will change, and you may notice greater difficulty interacting with people, increasing isolation. Misunderstandings may be a daily occurrence. These changes can impact your mental health and well-being.

Self-Esteem Struggles

Confidence and positive self-esteem often suffer when you have a sudden hearing loss. You may feel increased uncertainty from being unable to keep up with our audio-centric world. Many attempt to mask by people watching and copying social cues and may face embarrassment when hearing loss becomes evident to others around them. 

Increased Anxiety & Depression

The loss of confidence often leads to greater anxiety. You may feel unprepared, dread going to work or attending social events, and have anxious thoughts when faced with social settings. 

Anxiety often goes hand in hand with depression. Long-term struggles with anxiety and depression cause symptoms of tiredness, loss of appetite, low self-worth, and loss of interest in hobbies or things they used to enjoy. According to the National Council on Aging, older adults with hearing loss are 47% more likely to experience depression. 

Listening Fatigue 

When you constantly make an additional effort to hear, it can cause discomfort, pain, tiredness, and fatigue. To help you with your listening fatigue, it's important to de-stress emotionally and physically. Take time off your hearing aids, follow a hobby, take nature walks, and maybe try a head massage. 

Cognitive Decline

Studies have shown that untreated late-onset hearing loss in older adults is correlated with an increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia. A sudden lack of access to language and communication leads to less social interactions and, consequently, less brain stimulation. 

A few of the more notable ones include a study from Johns Hopkins by Dr. Frank Lin that indicated a mild hearing loss in older adults doubles your risk of dementia, a moderate loss triples your risk, and a severe loss increases your risk of dementia by five times - and can worsen if steps are not taken to utilize tools and resources to help restore language access and communication.

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Coping Strategies

There are some strategies to cope with the new emotions and social changes from having hearing loss. A few are explained below: 

Adjusting Expectations

The first advice is to adjust your expectations by accepting and acknowledging your new capabilities. Attempt to let go of your former hearing experiences. Don’t force yourself to function as if nothing happened; it is in your best interest to work around what you can do at this stage. 

Communication Strategies 

Explore different communication strategies that can enable you to work with your hearing loss. You may be open about your diagnosis and advocate for your needs, such as note-taking with other people. Other possibilities may involve using hearing aids, learning sign language, or asking for CART services. 

Support Groups

Whether you prefer in-person or online support groups, they exist to help you connect with others who also have hearing loss. Taking the time to find a group will help you feel less alone and learn methods to try in your daily life. It will also allow you to make friends and improve your mental health. 

Professional Help

If you find your struggles to still be overwhelming after a typical adjustment period, seeking counseling may be beneficial. There are counseling centers that specialize in counseling clients with hearing loss, such as the Deaf Counseling Center. Seeking therapists who offer online counseling may be an option, paired with accessible video conferencing platforms that provide captions or transcriptions. 

Practical Tips

Need more? Here are additional tips you can incorporate to help with hearing loss!

Assistive Technology

There are many forms of assistive technology or adaptive options available you can use starting today. Hearing aids are one form, but there are many other formats of assistive technology. 

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Did you know you can have your phone calls auto-captioned with Nagish? It is fast to set up, private, and free to any deaf or hard of hearing caller. In addition, Nagish offers a free live transcribe button from within the app. It helps transcribe in-person interactions with other people, such as ordering coffee or conversations with friends. 

For video conferencing, there are settings you can enable to provide accommodations you need to stay in the loop. In addition, many use Ava or Otter AI to transcribe their meetings. 

Did you know you can use Alexa as a deaf or hard of hearing homeowner? Nagish has a how-to guide on setting up adaptive features for Alexa. We also have the lowdown on the latest models for accessible doorbells or fire alarms. 

Seek Accommodations

Do you have a baby or young children you struggle to hear at night? Your local vocational rehabilitation center may have free or low-cost equipment to assist you. In addition, your state’s deaf and hard of hearing center may also be a source for obtaining deaf driver cards or identification. Don’t hesitate to seek out resources in your community. 

Also, be willing to ask for accommodations at your school, workplace, and medical appointments. With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), you can obtain reasonable accommodations such as ASL interpreters, notetakers, CART systems, and any adaptive tools. 

Self-advocacy Skills

It may be easier said than done, but building your ability to self-advocate is a skill that gets easier with time. The more you advocate for yourself, the more confident you will become. Self-advocacy starts with an awareness of what you need, obtaining knowledge of your rights, and believing in your worth of equality. 

If you struggle with self-advocacy, start small. Ask for help with what may seem like a small or trivial task, such as borrowing a pen, and gradually scaffold to bigger or higher stakes situations. One effective method is to pretend someone else has the same issue you do. How would you advocate for that person? Apply that solution to yourself, as you deserve the same access as anyone else. 

Summary

A diagnosis of hearing loss may be an unexpected life change. Still, with knowledge of what to expect, some coping strategies, and support systems, you can make the adjustment easier. Take advantage of technology and resources around you, advocate for yourself, and you’ll be well on your way!