Hearing loss

Listen in

Hearing loss aff ects young and old, and can sometimes have an impact on the relationships in your life

WORDS ERIN MILLER

Maintaining strong communication skills is a key to healthy relationships, but a diagnosis of hearing loss can often lead to feelings of social isolation.

Audiology Australia board president Dr Barbra Timmer says hearing loss can affect all ages, from newborns to older adults.

“For children, hearing loss can impact the ability to develop speech and language, and result in poor education and social outcomes,” Dr Timmer says.

“Hearing loss in working-age adults can result in reduced productivity and increased unemployment, and for older adults hearing loss can cooccur with other conditions, such as diabetes, falls or mental health issues.”

Common issues for those with hearing loss can include greater social isolation, loneliness, anxiety and depression.

“As hearing loss affects communication, relationships with others are also impacted when an individual has hearing loss,” Dr Timmer says.

“Many people with unaddressed hearing loss find they are just too tired at the end of the day to want to put in the effort to communicate with others.

“This avoidance of social interactions means we’ve seen an increase in reports of loneliness and reduced general wellbeing.”

People with hearing loss can find it impacts their ability to converse effectively when there is background noise or crowds.

“Some people stop going to social events where there may be a lot of people or background noise,” Dr Timmer says.

“Day to day, it can mean people miss out on those fleeting, but very important social interactions, such as banter at the supermarket.”

Masks can muffle sounds and make it impossible for people to read visual cues or to lip read.

“Research has shown that some people report having fewer casual conversations or just not communicating as much with others while wearing face masks,” Dr Timmer says.

She says to communicate and foster relationships with those who have hearing loss it is best to make sure they can see your face and to minimise background noise.

“Don’t speak too fast, articulate well, don’t shout, and rephrase if they haven’t heard you well the first time,” she says.

Dr Timmer says it is vital people see an audiologist if they have any concerns. “The sooner you see an audiologist … the better they can help you to continue enjoying life to the fullest.”

One in seven Australians are affected by hearing loss. This is expected to rise significantly in the next 20-30 years. First person

MELBOURNE NURSE JOHANNE KENT, 40, EXPLAINS HOW HEARING LOSS AFFECTS HER SON JIMMY, 7

“Jimmy’s hearing loss was picked up on the newborn screening test. I cried the whole way home. We saw an audiologist and they diagnosed severeprofound hearing loss in his right ear, but perfect hearing in his left. Jimmy had an MRI at five months, which confirmed an absent cochlear nerve. His hearing loss means Jimmy struggles with background noise and has trouble localising sound.

JOHANNE AND Due to having no DALE KENT WITH nerve, Jimmy can’t have THEIR SON JIMMY a hearing aid. He has a FM system he uses at school and at karate. It is a receiver he wears on his good ear and the teacher wears a microphone, so anything they say goes to his good ear. Jimmy hasn’t had any issues in regards to his speech and he is a chatty, confident little man. We also encourage him to have the confidence to advocate for himself. Face masks have made it a lot harder. If you are communicating with someone with hearing loss, be mindful of background noise and be aware of your position when talking to them. If they say pardon, please don’t say, ‘don’t worry about it’. It’s not their fault, so it wouldn’t be nice to miss out on the conversation because of that.”