If you’ve never worn a hearing aid, you might naturally imagine it would improve your hearing. You would be right about that, however, did you know that hearing aids also have statistically proven and extremely positive effects on your social life, family relationships, relationships at work and even your love life and marriage?
Many experts agree that healthy communication is one of the most important factors when rating marital happiness and satisfaction. Naturally, hearing loss causes lapses in understanding, which will have a negative impact on relationships and marriages. This guide helps you understand how hearing loss can negatively impact marital happiness if left untreated, as well as the exciting results on how hearing aids can improve your love life and marriage.
Untreated Hearing Loss: Not a Good Recipe for a Happy Marriage
As mentioned earlier, communication is an extremely important aspect of marital happiness and success. In a recent study of 1,500 British respondents over 55 who suffer from hearing loss, the following results were obtained. 69% says their hearing loss seriously hinders their ability to hold meaningful conversations with family and 34% are worried their marriage may fail because of the hearing loss. These results are not uncommon.
Results were similar in a US survey, where nearly half (48%) stated their hearing loss has negatively impacted their marriage, and 65% reported feeling annoyed with their partner because of their hearing loss. Depression and isolation were also common in many studies, causing additional strain on marriages and relationships.
Treating Hearing Loss: Will it Help?
Because of it’s extremely broad scope of investigation – Hear-It’s 2006 study is often cited on the topic. Hear-It is an international non-profit organization dedicated to providing information on hearing loss worldwide. This investigation looked at nearly every peer-reviewed scientific study on hearing aids and relationships from Europe, the United States and Australia. During the investigation, it was found that overwhelmingly (in almost every published study across nations), hearing aids were positively beneficial on relationships, at a statistically significant level. Of these benefits, the results for improvements in family lives and social relationships were the most significant.
For more specifics, a Hear-The-World Foundation study of over 4,000 respondents who began using hearing aids revealed that 81% were happy their partner got help and 70% stated it has directly improved their relationships. In Australia, 84% reported easier conversations with family, 70% reported better home lives, one-in-ten reported improvements in sex life and not a single respondent reported any negative effects of hearing aid use.
What Should I Do?
Of course, each marriage is complex and unique to the individual couple. There are multiple steps that can be taken if you are worried that hearing loss may be impacting your relationship. Whether or not you or your loved one already own and wear hearing aids, a good first step is to call and schedule a hearing exam. At your exam, your audiologist will help determine if hearing loss is an issue, if hearing aids are the right solution for you, and inform you about the exciting new advances in hearing aid technology which can help to improve all your relationships.
As Helen Keller famously stated, “blindness separates us from things, while deafness separates us from people.” Don’t let hearing loss separate you from that special person in your life any longer – call for your hearing exam today (your marriage may thank you).