Supporting a Loved One with Hearing Loss

Whether it’s a close friend, family member, or spouse, it’s only natural to want the best for the health and well-being of the people you care about. However, supporting a loved one with hearing loss can feel challenging, especially if you’re unsure how to help in meaningful ways. 

At Audibel Hearing Center, our team of hearing care specialists are here to help you navigate this journey with compassion, understanding, and expert advice. 

How You Can Support a Loved One with Hearing Loss 

Hearing loss affects more than just the ability to hear. It can impact relationships, self-confidence, and quality of life. If someone you care about is struggling with hearing loss, your support can make a world of difference.   

Below you will find practical tips and resources to guide you in supporting a loved one with hearing loss every step of the way: 

Day-to-Day Communication Tips 

There are many simple things you can do to make day-to-day communication easier for a loved one with hearing loss: 

  • Reduce Background Noise: Choose quieter areas for conversation, mute TVs and music sources, close windows to street noise, and close doors to noisy areas of the house. 
  • Improve Visual Cues: Always face the person when speaking to them, keep your mouth visible, and use gestures and facial expressions to complement what you’re saying.  
  • Soften Room Acoustics: Hard surfaces create echoes that can make understanding speech even more challenging. Area rugs, curtains, and upholstered furniture help absorb these distracting sounds. 
  • Optimize Seating: Arrange furniture to allow easy face-to-face interactions and sit closer during conversations, especially in noisy environments. 
  • Enunciate Words: Speaking louder and/or more slowly does not improve speech clarity. Make an effort to clearly enunciate your words and be willing to repeat and rephrase things that are proving harder for them to hear. 

These small, yet mindful adjustments can significantly reduce listening effort, improve communication, and help ensure your loved one remains involved and engaged in conversations.

Encourage Hobbies and Social Interactions 

Hearing loss can lead to feelings of isolation and withdrawal from activities and social situations. Actively encouraging hobbies and social interactions can significantly enhance your loved one’s well-being and reduce the risk of depression and even cognitive decline

It’s important to encourage them to keep doing the things they love every day, and if needed, help them find new ways to participate with accommodations for their hearing needs. It can also be helpful to join them and participate in these activities and social gatherings as well. Your presence can boost their confidence and make communication feel easier or less intimidating. 

Practice Patience and Compassion 

Supporting someone with hearing loss means recognizing that communication may take more time and effort for both of you. Frustration can build on either side but meeting these moments with patience and empathy can ease tension and foster more effective communication.  

This compassion can go a long way in helping your loved one feel supported, valued, and less alone in their experience. 

Remember You’re Not Alone 

Supporting someone with hearing loss can be emotionally and mentally challenging. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed or unsure of how to help—but you’re not alone. Our dedicated team of hearing care specialists at Audibel Hearing Center in Jacksonville are here to support you and your loved one every step of the way. 

Take the first step towards getting the personalized care you know they deserve by contacting us today. 

How to Encourage a Loved One to Wear Hearing Aids 

Encouraging a loved one to wear hearing aids can be a delicate task. Discussions about health can be a sensitive topic to broach, and hearing is no different. At Audibel Hearing Center, we want to help you approach this conversation with respect, compassion, and confidence.    

Below, you’ll find helpful strategies for starting the conversation, addressing concerns, and guiding your loved one toward the life-changing benefits of hearing aids: 

Do Some Research 

Researching the symptoms, daily challenges, and the impact of hearing loss on quality of life is an important step in learning how to provide truly meaningful support. A great place to start is using our hearing loss simulator, which lets you experience what different levels of hearing loss sound like. 

Taking the time to explore tools like this and researching things like communication strategies and care solutions can deepen your understanding and help you make a real difference their daily quality life.  

Being informed can also go a long way in showing your loved one that you are committed to supporting them no matter where they are on their journey to better hearing. 

Suggest Alternatives or Next Steps 

If your loved one isn’t ready to book an appointment right away, that’s okay. The goal isn’t to push them, but to provide clear, supportive pathways forward, and meeting them where they are is key.  

Consider offering low-pressure options, like taking a free online hearing test. This can be a helpful, non-intimidating first step that raises awareness and helps them recognize potential hearing issues without the pressure of a clinic visit. 

You can also gently share the contact information for our hearing clinic in Jacksonville so they have it when they’re ready. This gives them control over the next step and makes it easy to reach out on their own terms.  

Don’t Give Up 

Change can take time, especially when it comes to something as personal as hearing loss care. If your loved one resists the conversation at first, try not to take it personally or lose hope. Keep showing up with kindness, patience, and encouragement. Your support makes a bigger difference than you may realize. 

And remember, the friendly and experienced specialists at Audibel Hearing Center are always here to help. 

Hearing Loss and Quality of Life Statistics 

If your loved one is experiencing hearing loss, understanding the unique challenges associated with this condition is essential. While communication struggles are often the most noticeable signs, the effects of the condition are far-reaching.  

Hearing loss can also have a profound impact on a person’s emotional wellbeing, cognitive function, physical health and safety, and even their independence: 

The communication challenges associated with hearing loss can be frustrating, exhausting, and embarrassing. Over time, this can put a strain on relationships and even lead to social isolation and depression, both of which are proven to have a profound effect on mental and emotional wellness, as well as cognitive health. 

In fact, studies have found that when older adults feel socially isolated, their risk of developing dementia goes up by 27%.2  

Hearing loss has a direct impact on cognitive health and is a proven risk factor for dementia in older adults.3 Mild cases of hearing loss can double the risk of dementia if left untreated, while severe hearing loss increases this risk by five times.4  

For people most at risk of developing dementia, hearing aids have been proven to slow cognitive decline by up to 50%.5

Research shows a direct connection between hearing loss and poorer physical health, especially in older adults.6 Additionally, older adults with hearing loss are over 2.4 times more likely to experience a fall.7 

People with hearing loss are also more likely to miss important environmental safety cues like sirens, alarms, or traffic sounds. They may even have trouble hearing and following medical instructions, leading to further health risks. 

When left untreated, hearing loss can even interfere with a person’s ability to care for themselves. Roughly 28% of people over the age of 52 with untreated moderate to severe hearing loss have trouble with daily activities.8 These struggles can lead to increased reliance on others, reduced confidence and self-esteem, and a gradual loss of independence overall. 

References 

  1. Quick statistics about hearing, balance, & dizziness. (2024, September 20). NIDCD. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/quick-statistics-hearing 
  2. Huang, A. R., Roth, D. L., Cidav, T., Chung, S., Amjad, H., Thorpe, R. J., Boyd, C. M., & Cudjoe, T. K. M. (2023). Social isolation and 9‐year dementia risk in community‐dwelling Medicare beneficiaries in the United States. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 71(3), 765–773. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.18140 
  3. Wang, H., Zhang, W., Rolls, E. T., Li, Y., Wang, L., Ma, Y., Kang, J., Feng, J., Yu, J., & Cheng, W. (2022). Hearing impairment is associated with cognitive decline, brain atrophy and tau pathology. EBioMedicine, 86, 104336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104336 
  4. Huang, A. R., Jiang, K., Lin, F. R., Deal, J. A., & Reed, N. S. (2023). Hearing loss and dementia prevalence in older adults in the US. JAMA, 329(2), 171. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2022.20954 
  5. Hearing aids slow cognitive decline in people at high risk. (2023c, September 14). National Institute on Aging. https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/hearing-aids-slow-cognitive-decline-people-high-risk 
  6. Martinez-Amezcua, P., Powell, D., Kuo, P., Reed, N. S., Sullivan, K. J., Palta, P., Szklo, M., Sharrett, R., Schrack, J. A., Lin, F. R., & Deal, J. A. (2021). Association of Age-Related Hearing impairment with Physical Functioning among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in the US. JAMA Network Open, 4(6), e2113742. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.13742 
  7. Campos, L., Prochazka, A., Anderson, M., Kaizer, A., Foster, C., & Hullar, T. (2023). Consistent hearing aid use is associated with lower fall prevalence and risk in older adults with hearing loss. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 71(10), 3163–3171. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.18461 
  8. Dalton, D. S., Cruickshanks, K. J., Klein, B. E. K., Klein, R., Wiley, T. L., & Nondahl, D. M. (2003). The impact of hearing loss on quality of life in older adults. The Gerontologist, 43(5), 661–668. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/43.5.661 

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