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Hearing Loss: Come introduce yourself and connect with others
Hearing Loss | Last Active: 38 minutes ago | Replies (1534)Comment receiving replies
I am so glad I found this site. My husband suffers from Ménière disease and has bilateral hearing loss. He wears hearing aids but for the most part still has a hard time. It has been very frustrating for him but also for me. I will say something to him and he will say 'I didn't hear you', I will repeat with a slightly louder tone and again get 'I didn't hear you' and repeat again louder and he will say 'stop yelling at me!' I know this is very hard for him but he doesn't realize the toll it takes on me also. Anymore I try not to talk because it always ends in the same way. I appreciate the recommendations I have found on this site and will try to have more patience and speak to him face to face with more pronounced and slower speaking. I hope it works as we are very quickly edging towards no communication at all. 🙁
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I have hearing loss along with tinnitus and as time goes by I find myself avoiding social situations where there are crowds or many people speaking. Hearing others in places where there are many speaking or lots of background noise causes me a great deal of stress, and speaking face to face or slower speaking doesn't help much in those situations. I regularly get my hearing aids adjusted, so I am trying to keep up with getting the best benefits from them as possible. And yes, I understand the yelling at me part....I admit I say that to my husband from time to time! My husband often ends up taking care of business and social interactions that I use to do, but can't do as well anymore because of my hearing loss - it isn't always easy for you who have to live with all of us that have hearing loss either.
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@joejill There's a saying among people who live with hearing loss. It is "When someone in a family has hearing loss, everyone in that family lives with hearing loss." It permeates our lives, especially spontaneously.
When I talk to others who are living with this invisible disability, I realize how patient my own spouse has been with me through 50+ years of marriage.
Now he has hearing loss himself. I have had to learn to be patient with him! I have always known about the challenges, but am experiencing them quite differently now. i have to remind myself to be patient not to talk from the other room, etc.
We made a decision a few years ago and decided to 'schedule' a time for communication each morning. We get away from the TV and enjoy our morning coffee together at a table. It works better when we go out. It can be McDonalds or a coffee shop. It gets us up, dressed and moving and the plus is having time to visit. It works for us.
Meniere's can be tough because it often involves vertigo. It helps to talk to others who are going through the same trials. Do you know if there is a chapter of The Hearing Loss Assn. of America in your area? HLAA brings people together to talk about 'it'. That can be very therapeutic. http://www.hearingloss.org