Hearing Loss and Mental Health???

[ZCT]

Originally Posted by kevels55

Hi Folks,

I was having a very interesting conversation the other night after I overheard my wife talking on the phone to another professional (My wife is a Specialist Social Worker for the Deaf & HOH) Anyhow, I overheard her saying, "if your client has a Severe/Profound loss, then they are 4 times more likely to have mental health problems, than a hearing person"! ...

Cheers Kev

I am not a mental health professional, that's my wife's field. But effects of hearing loss on general well being is certainly part of the curriculum for my field back when I qualified in the UK.

I'd say the biggest issue is isolation. Even a relatively mild hearing loss can harm ones ability to hear conversation in a social situation such as a party, restaurant, or similar. And with a more serious loss, it can get to the point when anything other than face to face conversation becomes unmanageable.

This can have a profound effect on an individual. Information that was once gleaned simply by listening is no longer accessible. People with normal hearing may lose patience or be unhelpful when asked to repeat themselves. The hearing loss not only has an excluding effect but also increases social anxiety. What if I say the wrong thing? What if they think I'm stupid?

A hearing loss gets in the way of human interaction that people with normal hearing take for granted. And not only is that a problem in and of itself, but failure to stimulate the auditory cortex over time can also have an impact on the brain's ability to process speech correctly. While this is not strictly speaking a mental health issue, it is something that effects the brain.

So untreated hearing loss causes people to withdraw from human participation whether it be simply refusing to go to social functions or isolating oneself while at a social function, it is usually an unhealthy deviation from the patient's normal behavior.

For various reasons many people wait several years between the onset of a hearing problem, and seeking help for it. And during that time they are teaching their brain how not to hear, and often compromising their lifestyle. They may also be compromising their professional life too, there was a study in the media a few months ago that showed that people with a hearing loss are likely to earn less money than people with normal hearing. Perhaps the symptoms of the hearing loss are misinterpreted as a negative behavioral trait which gets the individual passed over for promotion, or shuts them out of certain opportunities.

So there's the isolation factor, the effect hearing loss has on families and friendships, negative career issues, and then finally age vanity. Many people incorrectly associate hearing loss with aging, and therefore see the use of hearing aids as an admission of becoming 'old.' Once you combine all of those factors, it can be pretty depressing for the individual.

The best advice I can give is face up to the problem right away, and address it with hearing aids as early as possible. Modern hearing aids can make a massive improvement to a life, and the sooner one tackles a problem, the better the results are likely to be.

[kevels55]

I thank you all for your comments folks, tis interesting that we all have preconceived ideas on what mental health is! I spoke to my Doctor/ Physician many times with regards to depression, but the first occasion hit me between the eyes as it was the most memorable! Now you must understand, me and my Doctor are on first name terms and we are more like good friends/buddies than a client/ patient relationship and we have an excellent rapport I believe we all have a built-in defensive mechanism, we try to hide from friends and family if we are ill, we often try to hide it from ourselves............. Back to the fist time I spoke to my Doctor about my depression, his first words were, "I was wondering when you would come and speak to me about this"! and me thinking to myself, my god, was it that obvious? The stigma attached to mental health is wrong, far too many people suffer in silence; IMHO, it is seen as a sign of weakness, but it is an illness and like any other illness, with the correct support, perhaps medication and guidance, it can be cured!

Cheers Kev

[lohearn]

I am one of the milder hearing loss people here on the boards. I had perfect hearing until I fell a year ago. Came to and discovered that everything was quieter and garbled on the left side. At the ER I was told that my hearing would probably improve as the swelling on the left side of my head subsided. Ten days later it had not improved.

I don't socialize like I used to, it's just too exhausting. I'm not a recluse, but I don't go out as much as I used to. The hearing I do have in my left ear is very distorted, it's not just softer. What I do hear, I'll use a human voice for instance, is like people talking have all inhaled helium. If I'm washing dishes in the sink and have the water running that sound is so loud, like extremely loud static, on the left side that I can barely make out someone speaking to me on my right side.

I did slip in to a depression. It affected my job, it affected my home life and definitely affected my social life. I still don't go out to eat as often as I used to, and the socialization I do do is with close friends who know my situation and they are more patient and accepting of my new reality. This was my first Christmas with my hearing loss. We all go to my aunt's home and there are about 20 people there. It was so difficult to follow along in the group discussions.

I still get down every now and then but I am doing better than I was.

[byline]

Originally Posted by Sandra

Sue,

I have also asked myself that question, as to whether I'm loner because of my hearing loss or because I was a loner as a child? My mom always said, I was happiest entertaining myself with my nose in a book, and in high school I chose not to go to the local hangout with the other kids, but home to do my chores and homework. I lost my hearing at age 18, 50 yrs ago to an ototoxic antibiotic.

I really do like people and can be sociable but,..... on my terms.

: )

Yup, going way back, I too was happiest with my nose in a book (or, going waaay back, with my imaginary friend). We don't know what caused my hearing loss. It was first detected when I was in third grade. My family moved, and that school system had mandatory hearing tests for all students, so that was the first time we learned of it.

I've seen four different audiologists in the past few months, and they all have slightly different takes on what might have caused it. One thinks it was noise-induced, another thinks my inner-ear bone structure might have something to do with it, and the other two think it's most likely congenital (I was born prematurely). Fortunately, the treatment doesn't rely on the cause.

My hearing loss definitely impacted my performance in school. Even though it was known that I had hearing loss, I don't recall any accommodations being made for it. I was treated like any other student, placed in the classroom according to my last name (it began with a T, meaning that I often sat at the back/last row of the classroom), and expected to learn like anyone else. I recall falling behind many times, especially in subjects that involved abstract concepts (algebra, music theory, etc.), and once I fell behind, I was unable to catch up. That gave me a sense of myself as being stupid. Because I formed that self-image early on, it's been hard to get rid of it.

Mainly because of my hearing loss, I gravitated toward writing as my career. Writing, of course, enables us to process and communicate our thoughts clearly, without the problem of miscommunication that hearing loss can bring. But writing professionally also means that it can't always be done in isolation. I worked as a newspaper reporter for 10 years, and have been writing freelance ever since. In situations where I am interviewing someone face-to-face, it usually goes quite well. But in other situations (covering an event or meeting, for example), a lot of things can get in the way of my understanding.

For that reason, I have always recorded my interviews and/or the events that I covered. But it also makes me a slower writer than others. I remember one time when an editor at the paper I worked for confronted me on this. He felt it was a drawback that I relied on my tape recorder, and that I was using it as a crutch. Because it was taking me so long to write my stories, I faced being fired, and that nearly devastated me, because I had no idea what else I could do. The next day, we had a talk about this, and I reminded him of my hearing loss, and that this was why I needed my tape recorder. He understood, and it was never an issue after that. But it was quite an emotional experience for me, having to figure out why I needed that tape recorder. It wasn't because I doubted my writing ability, or my ability to discern what the story was, but simply because I could never be confident that I had understood everything correctly.

[prodigyplace]

Originally Posted by lohearn

I am one of the milder hearing loss people here on the boards. I had perfect hearing until I fell a year ago. Came to and discovered that everything was quieter and garbled on the left side. At the ER I was told that my hearing would probably improve as the swelling on the left side of my head subsided. Ten days later it had not improved.

I don't socialize like I used to, it's just too exhausting. I'm not a recluse, but I don't go out as much as I used to. The hearing I do have in my left ear is very distorted, it's not just softer. What I do hear, I'll use a human voice for instance, is like people talking have all inhaled helium. If I'm washing dishes in the sink and have the water running that sound is so loud, like extremely loud static, on the left side that I can barely make out someone speaking to me on my right side.

I did slip in to a depression. It affected my job, it affected my home life and definitely affected my social life. I still don't go out to eat as often as I used to, and the socialization I do do is with close friends who know my situation and they are more patient and accepting of my new reality. This was my first Christmas with my hearing loss. We all go to my aunt's home and there are about 20 people there. It was so difficult to follow along in the group discussions.

I still get down every now and then but I am doing better than I was.

I really sympathize with you and have been interested in following your progress as you have updated us.

It must be much more difficult to be suddenly thrust into a hearing problem than to have it creep up gradually.

Please continue to keep us updated on your journey.

[byline]

Originally Posted by prodigyplace

I really sympathize with you and have been interested in following your progress as you have updated us.

It must be much more difficult to be suddenly thrust into a hearing problem than to have it creep up gradually.

Please continue to keep us updated on your journey.

Absolutely. I think one of the reasons why I have been relatively accepting of my condition is because it's always been with me. It's hard to miss what you've never had (even though I know that there are situations where it creates hardship for me). But to have good hearing, and then have that stolen from you, must be devastating because you know what you lost.

[DeafKD]

Some years ago, there was a provocative work published which argued that the health problems of many African-Americans in low-income groups were compounded by racism. In other words, it was not just poverty, or compromised access to health care, but the effect of racism on one's everyday psychological health that had an impact on physical well-being. I believe it.

Audism certainly impacts our mental health, doesn't it? If one is stigmatized, treated differently, discriminated against, et cetera, then one is gonna be prone to depression, anxiety, and even physical illness caused by the cumulative effect of a thousand tiny cuts.

I recommend going to the gym, playing CK Zombies, and recognizing that we're a golden contribution to the world, not a hindrance.

Still have my down days, though.

[lohearn]

Originally Posted by byline

Absolutely. I think one of the reasons why I have been relatively accepting of my condition is because it's always been with me. It's hard to miss what you've never hard (even though I know that there are situations where it creates hardship for me). But to have good hearing, and then have that stolen from you, must be devastating because you know what you lost.

Originally Posted by prodigyplace

I really sympathize with you and have been interested in following your progress as you have updated us.

It must be much more difficult to be suddenly thrust into a hearing problem than to have it creep up gradually.

Please continue to keep us updated on your journey.

Thanks. My son has otosclerosis in his left ear. He said the same thing, he's just used to it. He has perfect hearing in his right ear and his last audiogram looks similar to mine in the left ear, just a little better. And he's had many years to adjust and adapt slowly. Right now he's not interested in having surgery, he'll be 18 in a few months and when he's ready he can make the decision for himself.

Have to admit that I had no clue how much hearing loss affected life in general, and I live with a son who has otosclerosis. He told me that most of the time it's not a big issue for him. And other times he says he just smiles and nods when he knows he didn't hear something. Honestly I'm not sure he's told all of his friends that he has a hearing issue. For me, it was quite a surprise how much my hearing loss has impacted my life. I know there are others who have things much worse than I do so I try and keep that in perspective. It could have been worse, I could have done more damage than I did, so I'm grateful that I wasn't hurt more than I was.

[byline]

Originally Posted by lohearn

For me, it was quite a surprise how much my hearing loss has impacted my life. I know there are others who have things much worse than I do so I try and keep that in perspective. It could have been worse, I could have done more damage than I did, so I'm grateful that I wasn't hurt more than I was.

Exactly. Especially coming to this forum, I realize how fortunate I am. It could be worse. Having said that, I think I have had low-level anxiety for much of my life. Chicken or the egg? Who knows. Anyway, I'm of an age where I experience "tropical" moments on a regular basis. My doctor prescribed a low-dose medication to help with that, and the difference is amazing. I didn't realize how much anxiety had been controlling my life till the medication eased it, making room for many more positive emotions. The change has been quite amazing!

[rashkolnikov]

Thank you all for sharing and let me just preface all this with saying how fortunate I was to have 30 years of good hearing, to have been able to make and enjoy so much good (and some bad) music, to have enjoyed movies and television and so many conversations and memories.

Yeah, it hurts to lose all that (or not to experience it to anywhere near the full extent), but it's better to have heard and lost then never to have heard at all.

The constant shadow of my loss hangs over me now, however, and I fear the effects that'll have on my mind. Like so many of you have said, I go in trepidation where I used to be bold. I work in a dead-end job because I cannot interview, am afraid to move to a new location and meet all new people (which used to be a great excitement and motivation for me), and though my current job is a bit boring and frustrating (though the salary keeps me on), I'm unable to do it as well as I used to and in constant fear of losing it. Along with the daily struggle to understand conversation, it's the stress of competing with the hearing in a hearing world, the limiting of my previous creative outlets and dreams, that causes me to be so much more at risk of anxiety, depression, and according to a recent study, dementia and Alzheimer's as well.

I know, I know, Kevels55, "man the f*ck up, get over it, get on with it." You're right. I need to confront my loss, get new hobbies, new dreams, a new career. Yup, I want to. I've started studying ASL, but just online and it's good but I'll never become even slightly fluent at this rate. Technology may be able to do a little more for me too. Joining some kind of hearing loss/deaf support/social group would be great. However, I'm cut off from all that because I work in Japan. I'm postponing really doing the things I need to in order need to keep collecting a paycheck because as much as I fear the worsening of my hearing and its effects on my mind, I fear returning to America with no health insurance at a time when even the most able cannot find work.

So I keep on smiling and nodding. At least we have this message board to sound off on and it's been very helpful, so thank you all for listening.