What Is the Relationship Between Fear and Hearing Loss?

Posted on by Advanced ENT & Allergy

Developing hearing loss can be scary. Many experience varying levels of fear about how hearing loss will impact their lives. Although 15% of U.S. adults report some trouble hearing, many people avoid seeking treatment because they worry that acknowledging their hearing loss will only make their fears real. 

Feeling fear about your hearing loss is natural, but it doesn’t need to stop you from benefitting from hearing aids and other treatments. Let’s go over some common fears and how you can begin to face them.

Common Fears Surrounding Hearing Loss

Man holding his ear worrying about hearing aids

Common fears surrounding hearing loss include but are not limited to:

  • Communication will be hard. With hearing loss, you may experience difficulty communicating with the people in your life, but treatment can help. Hearing aids are one option to help amplify sound directly into your ears to help make understanding your loved ones easier.
  • It will be isolating. Hearing loss doesn’t have to make you feel isolated and lonely. Communicating your feelings and needs to your loved ones will help them accommodate your hearing loss. You may even grow closer by sharing this big part of your life with them.
  • It will be genetic. Most forms of acquired hearing loss (hearing loss acquired after birth) result from age, physical trauma or illness and are not likely to be hereditary. Other forms of hearing loss may be passed on through your genes, but that doesn’t have to be scary. Learning to embrace and manage your hearing loss will help you do the same for your children.
  • It will change my life. People often fear that they won’t be able to hear their favorite movies or TV shows. They may worry that activities as simple as playing catch in Tomlinson Park will be affected, but that isn’t entirely the case. Hearing loss treatment can help give your ears a little help in enjoying these activities with more ease than expected.

Facing Your Fears  

Facing your fears will help prevent them from becoming too overwhelming. Start by acknowledging your fears, maybe even say them out loud or write them down. This will help take some of their power away and make them easier to deal with over time.

After you state your fears, start gathering information about hearing loss and treatment. Make an appointment with your audiologist to ask questions and set expectations about the future of your hearing loss. Learning about what your hearing loss means for you will help you address and dispel your fears with concrete information.  

Contact Advanced ENT & Allergy today to make an appointment with a specialist to discuss and set expectations for your hearing loss hearing loss treatment.