When you think about the new year, what do you envision? After the last two years, many of us are eager to connect with others and to strengthen relationships that have become fractured through the distance. There are proactive steps you can take to strengthen your relationships in the new year, and you might even want to set some practical, attainable goals to help you feel more connected. Some people make a commitment to host their loved ones at home more often or to reach out for frequent phone calls or video meetups.
Others look to the broader community where they seek to form strong bonds with people who are like-minded or who live in the same area. These goals are all a good idea for the new year, but there’s one commitment that can improve your relationships that you might be overlooking: getting a hearing test! Hearing loss can put a serious strain on your relationships, and getting treatment can restore some of the closeness that you might have lost due to the struggle to communicate.
Let’s take a closer look at the connection between hearing loss and relationships to better understand how you can start the new year with stronger connections and better hearing!
Hearing Loss and Communication
When a person has hearing loss, it can have a profound effect on communication ability. Many people report that it is difficult to hear one voice in a crowd, and background noise can become a serious barrier to understanding what is going on in a group conversation. When a person with hearing loss tries to communicate, it can feel like putting together a puzzle without all the pieces. The missing sounds result in words that don’t make any sense. This struggle to understand others can be quite frustrating for all involved, putting a strain on the relationship. When interactions take on this negative feeling, it can make both people feel like they are being blamed for the problems. Some people even pull away from their relationships in an effort to avoid this frustration and anger that they feel, but the resulting social isolation can be even more detrimental. When we are socially isolated, we can experience depression and other negative mental health outcomes, so the priority of getting treatment for hearing loss is even more important.
Treatment and Healthy Relationships
How does getting treatment for hearing loss contribute to the health of your relationships? You have the opportunity to fill in the gaps in conversation and reconnect with others on several levels. When it comes to your deepest and closest relationships, you will be better equipped to understand the nuance of what others are disclosing to you. When your loved ones want to share what is in their hearts, you will be able to understand the context more completely.
Your relationships with extended family members can improve, as well. When you attend family reunions and parties, treatment for hearing loss can relieve some of the anxiety you might have felt before. Whereas in the past you likely felt unable to follow what everyone had to say at a restaurant, for example, hearing aids can make a tremendous difference. Your relationships in the community can improve, as well.
If you ever felt like it was a strain to understand others while you were out and about doing errands and shopping, hearing aids can make it possible to smoothly communicate with strangers in these settings. With these many types of relationships impacted, you can trust that getting treatment for hearing loss extends far beyond your ears.
If you are eager to improve your relationships with loved ones, family, and your community this new year, getting a hearing test is a great way to start. Setting the intention to get a hearing test in the new year is a simple goal that you can achieve right away, and the ripple effects for your relationships will make it a powerful step toward a renewed sense of connection. The choice to schedule a hearing test is as simple as picking up the phone or emailing our offices, so why not make this resolution one you know you can keep!