Anxiety, Depression and Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is not just about the impact of your ability to hear sound, there can also be emotional and mental effects for people who experience hearing loss, including anxiety and depression. These can have major impacts on our self-esteem and how we interact with others, but how does hearing loss affect us in relation to anxiety and depression?

How Does Hearing Loss Affect Our Emotional Health?

The impacts of hearing loss can be wide-ranging, especially when it comes to your emotions. Some of the effects can include the following:

• Depression and anxiety: Experiencing hearing loss can make you feel like you have lost a key part of yourself. Because we are so used to having our senses as a part of who we are, it makes sense that the confirmation that we have a greatly reduced sense of hearing can result in feelings of depression, anxiety and sadness.
• Isolation and withdrawal: It’s very common for people who have experienced hearing loss to avoid social situations. When somebody is faced with having a conversation with someone else, there can be a lot of worry that they will miss parts of the discussion or feel embarrassed that they have to ask someone to repeat themselves for fear of frustrating the other person. Isolation and withdrawal can lead to feelings of depression or make these feelings worse.
• Anger and frustration: Losing your hearing can be a big change to your life which requires a lot of adjusting. It can be frustrating to have to readapt your life. An ever-common concern is for people to be in denial about their hearing loss because they are not ready to accept the change. Additionally, the anger and frustration of not being able to hear in public situations or the frustration that they are being passed over in conversations can gradually accumulate into symptoms of anxiety or depression.
• Fatigue: Experiencing hearing loss can make you feel fatigued. When you are trying to hear someone, you are using a lot more energy. People who experience hearing loss usually feel physically exhausted at the end of every day because of this strain. When our energy levels are low, it makes us feel less capable of being able to maintain other aspects of our lives which can lead to feelings of despair.

How Can We Talk About Hearing Loss?

Anybody who has recently discovered they are experiencing hearing loss may not feel ready to talk about it. However, it’s important to frame the conversation in relation to the benefits of receiving hearing treatments, for example, visiting an audiologist to get hearing aids.

For anybody who has a loved one who is undergoing this, highlighting the positives arising from treatments can help to ease the process. For example, hearing aids have a number of benefits including being able to participate in conversations easier and being a more independent person.

When we experience feelings of isolation or helplessness, it’s natural that depression and anxiety can increase. Hearing aid treatments can be a steppingstone to helping someone with hearing loss reclaim a part of their life they had lost.

What Are the Best Options for Treating Hearing Loss?

There are hearing interventions such as therapy or auditory training, but hearing aids are one of the most common treatment methods because they are so effective. People who experience hearing loss are reluctant to try hearing aids because either they don’t want to admit they need them or have heard stories about the ineffectiveness of hearing aids. However, it’s important to point out that hearing aids have come a long way since their invention.

Hearing aids can be linked to smartphones, but they can also improve people’s quality of life. While people can hear better, there are numerous health benefits to wearing hearing aids. For example, it can prevent loneliness and decrease psychological distress. A study conducted on 25,600 American adults found that people with hearing loss were less likely to feel symptoms of psychological distress, such as depression and anxiety.

Hearing loss is a condition that can be managed and treated. Many people are in denial, but this is why hearing aids are essential for people to regain control over their lives. If you or someone you care about is experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression directly arising from hearing loss, hearing aids could make the biggest difference.

If you want to learn more, you can get in contact with Rametta Audiology & Hearing Aid Center at Tarentum: (724) 409-4439 and Vandergrift: (724) 567-3233 to speak to one of our team.