inappropriate speaking volume from hearing impaired spouse
My husband has hearing loss requiring hearing aids for at least the past 6 years, and although he wears hearing aids, his speaking voice is often either too loud or almost inaudible. He doesn't seem to understand that if he's speaking right next to my ear that means he doesn't need to speak loudly, yet he speaks so loudly it hurts my ears. Other times his speaking volume is so soft that he's almost inaudible. It is hard to predict what speaking volume he'll use. His speaking volume is problematic several times a day and this has gone on for years. His audiologist says his hearing aids are appropriate and we've not gotten any further help with husband choosing a reasonable speaking volume. I'd really appreciate some advice because this is maddening to me, although this doesn't seem to bother my husband at all.
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This does change things. I am sorry for your husband's cognitive decline, and I hope you can find the guidance and support to aid both of you. Hearing loss can also contribute to early mental decline. I wish the best for you.
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On Mon, Jul 14, 2025 at 9:33 PM, Lana Kapavik< lkapavik@att.net> wrote: ❤️
It seems we have some common experience.
Even in my "good old days", when hearing loss was a problem only others had, it was noticeable that those with hearing loss tended to speak louder than needed - the louder the background noise, like in a crowded restaurant, the louder they would speak and probably annoying other guests on neighboring tables.
In the last few years, my own hearing was rapidly deteriorating, and my wife would frequently signal too me, or tell me to speak lower. The same would sometime happen when both of us were talking at the dinner table - no distracting TV sound or music in the background.
Only recently, I was diagnosed with hyperacusis which making everything sound too loud. My own voice and anyone talking to me sounded annoyingly loud making my word speech and recognition very poor. Banging a plate in the kitchen sink could be painful. Hearing tests had very poor results. For instance, my latest AzBio Sentence Hearing Test at 65% noise showed only 6% out of 159 words in 20 sentences correct (Soon I will get a cochlea implant and I hope it will significantly improve my hearing and minimize or elimintate hyperacusis).
Therefore, others who have good hearing often don't realize how much hearing loss can affect the quality of life of hearing impaired.
The Hearing Tracker Forum posted a very interesting discussion by Steve Klinger about it:
http://www.hearingtracker.com/opinion/what-i-wish-people-with-normal-hearing-understood-about-hearing-loss
I have given it to others with good hearing so they might gain an understanding about it.
Hi Deberh, thank you for your response! As I had hoped, I'm so learning so much from everyone's answers about hearing loss, and it all helps. I've never heard of hyperacusis, and sorry to hear how difficult this is for you. And I read that discussion by Steve Klinger, and that was very interesting and quite informative. Again, I really appreciate all the info you've shared!