As I talk to my patients, one of the first discussions I have with them relating to their hearing loss is that hearing can be tiring. Perhaps more succinctly listening can be tiring. When one has a hearing loss there are certain frequencies that are more difficult to hear and therefore one can be missing key information in speech. It might be understood that hearing and listening with a hearing loss forces one to constantly be filling in the blanks. The worse the hearing loss, the more blanks that need to be filled in. This might be a fun party game for a short time but in the context of engaging in conversation can be a lot of work. To constantly be filling in the blanks and often guessing in order to keep the conversation fluid can be difficult and yes tiring. When I tell my patients with hearing loss that I do understand that for them being in listening situations over prolonged periods of time can be very fatiguing, it is as if a burden has been lifted off of them. Sometimes, they realize why they are tired but other times they, themselves, have no clue that it is this high demand on them that is causing them to be stressed and fatigued.
So many of my patients are now much younger and involved in the workplace needing to stay on top of their game so to speak and the inefficiencies that a hearing loss creates for them are a significant aggravation to them. A hearing loss can effect ones confidence in the workplace especially when competing with or working with those that do not have to overcome this obstacle in relation to work. Some people understand what is happening to them while others start to question their own ability.
It is interesting to note the strategies that may be employed when inefficiencies like a hearing loss present themselves. In some cases, the person with the hearing loss becomes dominant, taking over the conversation, directing the subject, and coming across as overconfident or overpowering. It is so much easier to be part of a conversation when you define the subject and lead it than to have to follow a conversation when someone else defines the subject and direction of the conversation. The other side of this coin is the individual who avoids conversation and comes across as lacking confidence given that they shy away from difficult listening situations. I have had many a capable patient consider leaving the work force due to the stresses of hearing loss and the inefficiencies and personal estimation of their diminishing abilities. Hearing loss can diminsh ones confidence.
The working world may not be the most demanding listening situation that one encounters. It is the social context that can be one of the most difficult areas for the hearing impaired. I often talk to my patient about work being a closed set environment, that is to say that in the context of ones working world we can often guess at the subject matter. If I work as an accountant, I can guess that my client will come to my office to talk about accounting related matters. Our ability to fill in the blanks in a closed set environment is so much greater than one without context. The social enviroment is complicated for this very reason. In a social setting the conversation can go in so many different dierctions making it very hard to guess at the content.
It is human nature to avoid situation and circumstance that we do not enjoy. When we find certain situations tiring or stressful making us feel incapable, our natuaral reaction would be to avoid those situations. I have encountered many a patient that once were ultimately social individuals enjoying their human interactions that due to their hearing loss have withdrawn from doing the things they once enjoyed.
Because so little is understood by society regarding the effects of hearing loss, it is more than likely that the individual with that loss themselves do not have an understanding as to why they feel the way they feel. Why they are so tired at the end of their working day, why they do not feel like going to that party, why they do not really enjoy going to church the way they once did, and the list goes on and on. Here in my office, asI talk about the result of the hearing testing with my patients, it is very interesting to see the initial reaction to a patient being told that they have a hearing loss and how negatively that initial revelation can be taken. However as you start to explain to them how this hearing loss may have been impacting their life, it is amazing to note the change in the patient. It is as if a major weight or burden has been lifted off of them to know that what they have been feeling what they have been experiencing is just related to their hearing and can be overcome with the correct intervention. To be able to take ones life back is not an overstatment of how improved hearing can effect a life.
I have had so many experiences with my patients that have emotionally rocked me as they relate how improving their hear hearing has changed their life. In this day and age, we as audiologists have so much more knowledge to work with in our field. Technology has moved forward in leaps and bounds allowing us to do so much more for our patients. There are so many more positive outcomes for the treatment and remediation of hearing loss now that ever before. The profession of audiology has grown to require so much more education in order to meet our patients needs as best we can. My belief is that while all of these steps forward are immensely important, it is so much more important to really understand what a patient goes through relative to their loss and how it makes them feel as the loss impacts their life. One can not find and provide the best solution for their patient unless they have a solid understanding of that patient needs and struggles.
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