Blindness cuts us off from things, but deafness cuts us off from people. For individuals who are already experiencing age-related challenges like gradual cognitive decline, mobility issues, and feelings of loneliness, hearing loss only exacerbates their internal struggles dealing with daily life. The psychological effects of hearing loss are greater than you may realize.
Social Withdrawal
It’s not uncommon for individuals with hearing loss to actively avoid social situations where it is difficult to hear simply to avoid feelings of embarrassment, anxiety, and stress about their condition. Hearing ability is integrally linked to communication, and hearing loss leads to communication barriers. If they do not have a supportive circle of friends and family members to encourage social activity, the frustration of not being able to properly communicate with others in public may lead to them gradually avoiding meeting up with their loved ones or close friends. Since maintaining relationships becomes increasingly challenging, sometimes the easier option is socially isolating themselves. What’s worse is that this may gradually increase the chances of an older individual developing dementia or suffering from cognitive decline.
Fatigue
On top of age-related issues like easily getting physically drained from simple activities like walking, carrying out chores, and even thinking about tasks they need to complete – all of that combined with straining to hear properly to understand what’s going on demands a significant portion of one’s energy. Hearing loss takes an enormous toll on older people in various ways. It’s easy for them to feel physically and mentally exhausted at the end of the day as they are constantly trying to make sense of what people are saying by observing social cues from multiple people at once on top of straining to hear.
Emotional
Hearing loss poses a risk to one’s psychological health as they try to cope with the stressful, harmful, or disturbing circumstances in their daily life. Older adults with hearing difficulties are more vulnerable to mental health problems like emotional sensitivity, depression, aggression, hopelessness, and overall decreased well-being. It’s not surprising as losing your hearing can make one feel like they have lost part of their identity and that they are missing out on their loved ones’ conversations. On top of that, expressing their feelings can be extremely challenging as well as they are not able to understand how others are responding to their words, making them feel like they’re alone in their struggle.
Why Choose SummerHouse Grayson Valley?
At SummerHouse Grayson Valley, we offer top-notch medical care on top of a warm and welcoming retirement community that elicits feelings of closeness and familiarity. Greater awareness of the burden of hearing loss can help older individuals to improve their quality of life. By promoting high-quality health and wellness programs, we aim to keep our residents active and healthy holistically.
What’s different about us is the home-like atmosphere our team members and residents have fostered, and that’s something you can only find here. If you have any inquiries about the range of services we offer, don’t hesitate to contact us today.
