Seeing hearing loss as a disability works like quicksand, keeping you stuck in one place without finding solutions and workarounds in both your personal and business life. Hearing loss is a challenge. It’s important to recognize that up front because once you do, you start moving forward to triumph over it.
In order to beat that challenge and regain control, you must adapt to the changes as they happen whether it’s a constant ringing in your ears, the struggle to fill-in missing words or figuring out how to communicate effectively with someone you love. It’s estimated that over 48 million people in this country have some level of hearing loss, if you are one of them, how can you triumph?
What Causes Hearing Loss?
Learning about your specific problem is where you should start. There are many things that can lead to hearing loss. Often individuals dealing with a slow decrease of their hearing have presbycusis, a condition associated with aging. Presbycusis is the natural decline of the critical nerve cells in the inner ear stemming from years of abuse.
Presbycusis is one of the most common forms, but not the only possible culprit. Disease, for example, often damages the small mechanisms of the ear, rendering them ineffective. Medications can also have an impact on the inner ears. For some, the hearing issue stems from a congenital defect or genetic condition.
Lifestyle plays a key role in your hearing health. The things we do tend to expose us to a lifetime of ear-damaging noise like using headphones when listening to music or playing a favorite online game. Over the top sounds have a significant impact when it comes to gradual hearing loss.
Get Proactive
For those with a slow decrease in hearing, it’s time to figure out what you can do now to stop the progression. Make a note of all the things that may be contributing to the problem like headphones, earbuds and those evenings listening to live music. Put down the headphones and earbuds and get ear protection for your nights out. It’s an easy fix that will make all the difference in your hearing.
Next, make an appointment with your physician for an exam and hearing test. Hearing loss can be a symptom of another illness like high blood pressure or diabetes, too. A check-up will also rule out a fixable problem like earwax blockage or infection. A professional hearing test marks your current hearing status to provide a baseline to measure any future decline.
Managing Tinnitus
For some people experiencing a change, the real battle is trying to deal with the ringing or clicking sound that comes with many forms of hearing loss. Tinnitus is noises that only you hear. They can be irritating enough to affect your quality of life. It presents as:
- Ringing
- Buzzing
- Roaring
- Clicking
- Hissing
To master this challenge, you must find ways to filter out the ringing. White noise machines are effective at night, and hearing aids work well during the day. Some also have luck with meditation that teaches the brain to push away the phantom sounds.
Find Your Personal Triumph Strategy
The truth is no two people experience the same challenges with hearing loss. It’s important to figure out your personal ones and then look for solutions. It’s the little things that make a difference when it comes to enhancing communication skills, for example. Maybe try standing in front of the person you are talking to instead of to the side. A shift in position will focus the sound waves, so they enter the ear canals at almost full force.
Remember to give your ears a break once in awhile, too. The struggle to hear is tiring, so isolating yourself in a quiet place for even five minutes can have an impact on your ability to comprehend words.
Take advantage of any tools available, too. For many people, this means assistive technology like hearing aids and home safety devices such as smoke alarms that cause the lights to blink and shake the bed.
The best tool at your disposal, though, is your ability to communicate with others even as you struggle to hear what they say to you. Talk to the people in your life and tell them what is going on. The most effective way to triumph over a hearing loss is to see it for what it is — a challenge and then develop a strategy to meet it head-on.