Emotional Side of Hearing Loss
DENIAL
Why are you mumbling? Can you turn down the background music so that I can hear you guys better? Can you please repeat what you said? The audio of the TV must be set too low, I can’t hear fine what they’re saying properly?
Denial is a natural reaction to hearing loss but a temporary stage that occurs due to the fear of embarrassment. It seems convenient for some people to alter their environment to compensate their hearing loss.
ANGER
The phase of denial advances and lead the sufferer to a stage where they start blaming others out of frustration and anger. Family members or near ones may mock or laugh at their inability to hear clearly, which annoys the person with impaired hearing and they lash out in anger to defend their inability.
WITHDRAWAL
Eventually when temporary defence (the stage of denial and anger) is replaced with partial acceptance, the sufferer begins to cut themselves out of family gatherings and social events to avoid embarrassing situations.
They start to evade one-on-one interactions and group conversation in the fear of having people know about their hearing issue.
DEPRESSION
All the stages together automatically cause the person suffering from hearing loss to isolate themselves, ultimately leading to depression.
Isolation and the loss of social activity and interaction create a feeling of low self-esteem, which prevent the sufferer from getting help and care they need.
