Quite often, people don't realise that they have hearing loss because they start losing their hearing gradually. Others don't want to admit that they have a hearing problem as they assume it's a sign of getting old. As a result, it’s often a family member or friend, who gets the most frustrated because you can’t communicate properly with the affected people.
What can you do to help? Here are a few tips on how you can assist your friend or loved-one to help them.
Recognising the signs of hearing loss
The first step you should take is to encourage your friend or loved-one to have their hearing checked regularly. The following questions will help you to determine if there is a problem. However, a professional hearing test is quite often the best way to find out if there is a sign of hearing loss.
- Do they complain that everybody seems to be mumbling?
- Do they have to strain to hear when someone talks?
- Do they have difficulty hearing when someone calls from behind or from another room?
- Do they have to lip-read to follow the conversation?
- Do they find it hard to follow a conversation in meetings, in restaurants or in lectures?
- Do they listen to the TV or radio at a frustrating, abnormally loud level?
- Do they complain that people are mumbling when they talk on the phone?
- Do they miss a lot of the dialogue when going to the theatre, cinema, or other entertainment venues?
- Do they have difficulty conversing in noisy environments such as a restaurant or a car?
- Do they tend to be more quiet than normal when socialising because they are having difficulty communicating?
- Do they often ask you to repeat things?
If you answered ‘yes’ to more than one or two of these questions, it’s likely your friend or loved-one has some hearing loss. Therefore, getting their hearing professionally assessed is crucial. If a hearing loss is identified early, it can offer many long-term benefits including better quality of life.
There's nothing to fear
A professional hearing test usually takes less than an hour and is completely painless. At AudioClinic, we offer free hearing tests to all Australian adults over 21 years of age.
We encourage you to come to the initial appointment with your loved-one so you’ll be there for them when they need to make decisions about the suggested treatment and solutions.
Although hearing aids can’t fully restore a person’s hearing, they can usually bring back their confidence to communicate.
What do today's hearing aids look like?
Digital hearing aid technology has made a significant difference to the quality and appearance of today's hearing aids.
And the range of Oticon hearing aids we use at AudioClinic are second-to-none. Established in Denmark in 1904, Oticon consistently pushes the boundaries of hearing aid technology to deliver innovative hearing solutions.
Adjusting to hearing aids
Once your loved-one or friend has been fitted with hearing aids, it will require a lot of adjustment to the amplified sound which quite often can be overwhelming.
In particular, because the brain has forgotten certain sounds and has to get used to these all over again. Some people will adjust almost immediately, while others may take a few weeks. Therefore, you might need to play a very important part in this process, and encourage them to take time to adjust to hearing aids.
During the first few days, the hearing aids should be worn as much as possible. The benefits will soon become more obvious and, before long, your loved one will be wearing them all the time. However, if the hearing aids seem too loud or soft, or just not ‘right’, they need to be adjusted immediately by a professional hearing care clinician.
An important step to better hearing
Helping a friend or loved-one can be challenging, but in the end it will be well worth it. Good hearing is an essential part of good health as it connect us with our friends, family and colleagues.
As hearing care professionals, we’ve seen first-hand how much people’s lives improve when they deal with their hearing loss. In fact, the most amazing thing is that nearly everyone says they wish they’d done something about it sooner.
Click here to help a friend or family member today.