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Holiday Auditory Exhaustion Syndrome is Here!
Hearing Loss | Last Active: Dec 6, 2022 | Replies (29)Comment receiving replies
Holiday family/friend gatherings are tough. I know I miss a lot, but still work to hear what I can. I ‘try’ not let let it make me introverted, ie just sit there and look interested in what’s being said and really not caring, because I can’t hear much. I keep trying & my DH is so good at filling me in on what’s being said. At the gathering, I was trying to hear a young friend tell me about his college goals & how he was doing. My ears / hearing aids were I think on overload from the mouse & my brain was buzzing trying to hear and understand what he was saying with all the background noise going on. I finally suggested we go into the living room but by that time my listening fatigue had set it, so I still struggled in the Semi-quiet area. Listening fatigue is exhausting and hearing ppl try & be supportive 😇 but really do not understand the extent of it. When we hear speech we have to process what we think heard, put it in context of the conversation, process again to confirm that is correct and then answer or speak. It is longer than a hearing person and seems like a long time to us. I sometimes think the other person thinks I’m stupid. I’m so very thankful for my hearing aids but frustrating at time. Thank you for posting.
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Thank you so much, Sequoia, for putting into words the experience of listening fatigue. I know it so well, but I had never explicitly described it even to myself. It’s this kind of fatigue, I’m very afraid, that helps to forge the link between hearing loss and dementia. The kinds of experiences you describe, which have become increasingly common in my own life, can pave the way for those of us suffering from hearing loss to conclude that withdrawing is better for us as well as for those whose patience can grow thin with our inability to “keep up.”
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@sequoia You nailed it! This is exactly how most people who have severe hearing loss feel in large gatherings. Attitude makes a difference though. Sounds like you have an A+ there!
People often get the impression that we are either not paying attention or that we are a bit daft or stupid. We sense that and the stress keeps adding up. It takes us time to digest what we are hearing, then to ponder whether or not we heard it correctly, and then to decide whether or not to respond. Sometimes we get it wrong, and our response makes us look really, really bad. We have used examples of those kinds of misunderstandings in 'role play exercises' at HLAA chapter meetings. Sometimes we have to laugh at ourselves too.
Did you know that a person with hearing loss often takes up to 5 seconds to respond to a simple yes or no question?