Have you ever been to a family gathering where there is that one person in the corner of the room who never seems to add anything to the conversation, but simply smiles and nods their head every once in a while?  Are they shy?  Or do they simply have no way of hearing what everyone is saying.

Imagine, those of you who are tech-savvy, that your friend or loved one went on a trip and you’d agreed to talk via Skype every night to catch-up on the day’s events.  You can see them just fine, however, the microphone connection on their end is poor and you only get bits and pieces of what they are saying.  You’d probably interrupt at first, let them know that you can’t hear them and suggest a few things to correct the problem, but eventually just decide to try again tomorrow.  The next day is the same, but you miss them so much that you simply smile, nod, and try to guess what they said.

Over time, this event can become very frustrating.  You can begin to blame the other person for not trying harder to fix the connection on their end and they begin to blame you for not fixing it on your end.  You both believe that it must be the other person, not knowing the real problem.

Imagine if this is what happens every morning and evening at meals in your home.  Hearing loss effects people’s lives and relationships.  Someone recently told me about an audiologist who has a sign on the wall in his office that says, “I save marriages”.  I laughed out loud instantly.  How funny, and yet, how true!

It truly is a special moment when a baby, who was born without ears, hears for the first time through her bone conduction hearing aids.  The eye widening and turn of the head that says, “WHAT just happened??”  Or the adult who is newly programmed with properly fit hearing aids is suddenly answering whispered questions that their loved ones KNOW that they never would have heard or correctly responded to before.

Accepting hearing loss and doing something about it can be a very long and difficult process, but once someone has climbed that mountain, their life seems to be that much richer and more enjoyable.  Especially when they can communicate with their loved ones.

Encourage your loved ones with hearing loss to improve their quality of life and see an audiologist.