There is no easy way to begin the change in your life that is losing your hearing or at least part of it. It can be extremely difficult at times and can create awkward or tricky scenarios where you are trying to guess what is being said or looking for any context clues to help you work out what is happening. Whilst you don’t want to make people repeat themselves you shouldn’t feel embarrassed to ask them.
A loss of hearing is nothing to be embarrassed about, these things happen, and it is more common than you would actually think. It affects most people eventually. The best thing to do is to be upfront with it and allow for the conversation to happen. Here is a little bit of advice for you to help with your transition.
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Face people directly
You should make sure that you alert people you are in a conversation with that you are living with hearing loss and that for a conversation to flow a little bit better that you need to face everyone directly. This should hopefully prevent anyone from getting annoyed at you when they are shouting from another room to you. You will quickly develop skills in being able to read lip movements which will add context to your conversations. Being upfront with your problems will help you get by any awkward conversations.
Tell someone if you miss something
If you have missed something in a conversation, you should be upfront with the person that you are having the chat with that you didn’t catch what they said. They may be able to tell from your facial expression that you missed something. It is better to give them a friendly hint that you missed what they said rather than letting the conversation go on without you knowing what is happening.
Reduce background noise
When you are in a public setting there are often lots of competing background noises that are covering the sound of those who you are chatting with. The level of noise often depends on where you are and where you live. If you live in the countryside, then it will be easier for you to avoid large noises than if you are living in the city. If you are in quite a loud place, then you may be able to reduce any excess noise. If you are in someone’s home, then you can ask to turn off any extra noise.
Patience
There is something to be said about just taking a deep breath and letting your frustrations flow away without getting too wound up. There will be people who forget that you are having hearing troubles and those who just get all of the social conventions wrong. It can be difficult to let everything pass when someone is shouting in your face or not facing you directly but you getting angry will only upset you and won’t help you communicate.
Non-verbal communication
Non-verbal communication will become an essential part of your life when your hearing starts to wane. You can become much more skilled in using facial expressions, gestures, and posture to convey your feelings and emotions. You will also become much better at reading other people’s body language. This will help you get the gist of conversations that you miss without having to ask somebody to repeat themselves too much.
Don’t be afraid of the hearing aid
It is not uncommon for those who lose their hearing both partially and more fully to feel uncomfortable about wearing hearing aids. Some people are happy to embrace them and take great pride in wearing them whilst others can feel outed by wearing them and choose to only wear them when they absolutely have to. Don’t feel worried about looking older or that you are aging. Wearing hearing aids is just like wearing glasses. If you need to use them then you should.
Coping with hearing loss
There is a lot to cope with when your hearing begins to leave you. But that is no reason to feel overwhelmed or down about it. There are plenty of things you can do that do not require too much adjustment on your side to make your own life easier. Make sure that you make small adjustments to your life and try not to get too frustrated when you miss something, or someone treats you definitely. It is not only an adjustment for you but everyone in your life.
