Article Directory :: Health & Fitness Articles

The Link Between Hearing Loss and Depression

By Kelly Calkins

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 11Dec2007 Word count: 730 Viewed: 3043 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Before he started losing his hearing, Steve was an outgoing young man with a promising life ahead of him. He had several close friends he enjoyed spending time with, he visited with family regularly and cherished spending time with his nieces and nephews. His career and social life was also thriving. Steve was an IT specialist in line for a promotion, he was active in his community, and participated in charitable events throughout the year - but this all changed as Steve's hearing deteriorated.

During this gradual hearing loss, which eventually left Steve partially deaf in both ears, Steve started sleeping more than usual. He began to lose weight because he lost his appetite. Steve became restless and irritable, which impacted his personal relationships as well as his career. He began to experience chronic headaches, which made him more irritated. Although Steve's hearing loss was not the only thing responsible for his reduced quality of life, his hearing loss was a primary factor because it added to his depression.

Although Steve suffered from hearing loss at a relatively early age, many older adults endure hearing loss which is often accompanied by depression. In one study conducted by the Geriatric Mental Health Foundation, 15% of participants over the age of 65 reported feelings of depression. These feelings are often linked to health concerns which include the onset of hearing loss.

Depression is a disease which affects many people each year. Symptoms such as feeling sad, fatigue, loss of appetite, irritability and even chronic health problems such as headaches or GI issues are just some of the indications of depression. It is not uncommon for depression or even aggression to accompany hearing loss at any age. This is because those suffering from hearing loss tend to feel overwhelmed and helpless. Also, they do not know how to cope with their hearing loss and may even be resistant to devices such as hearing aids.

Fortunately there are steps you can take to combat depression accompanying hearing loss. These steps include accepting the condition, joining support groups, using Learning and Communication Enhancement (LACE), and consulting with a medical professional about getting digital hearing aids.

The first step to overcoming depression associated with hearing loss is to learn to accept the condition. This is critical because it will help you become more proactive in healing yourself. Although you might not be able to reverse your hearing loss, you can take steps to avoid feeling helpless. Simply defining the problem and learning about alternatives for communicating will help you realize all hope is not lost. You can still live a full life even with a hearing loss.

The best way to overcome depression related to hearing loss is with hearing aids. The technology available in today's hearing aids enables them to perform better than ever before. And they are so small, no one will even know your wearing one!

Joining support groups can also be very beneficial. Meeting with others who share similar obstacles can help you feel empowered. It's so helpful just to be able to talk about your feelings with others who truly understand the problem. Your friends and family may try to be supportive but unless they are also dealing with a hearing loss they cannot fully understand how hearing loss really affects your life.

Listening and communication enhancement (LACE) was developed by leading audiologists at the University of California at San Francisco to improve listening and communication skills in those who are suffering from hearing loss. LACE is an interactive computerized training program designed to assist those suffering from hearing loss by helping them to adapt strategies for compensating when their current level of hearing is inadequate. This program has been shown to increase the listening and communication skills of users by 40%. A program like this can really help you cope better with your hearing loss , especially when used in conjunction with a hearing aid. When you regain your life through better hearing it can really help lessen feelings of depression.

Finally, if you're still battling depression it may be a good idea to consult a medical professional for treatment for depression. It is important to remember depression is a disease and it will not go away on its own. A medical professional can assess your symptoms to help you to combat depression and get back to enjoying life.

EasyPublish™ this article - publishers click here

More articles by Kelly Calkins

Free Report!
Ten Essential Secrets Of Article Marketing ... Grab Your Free
Copy Now:

Need Content?
Regular Top Quality Content for your Blog, Ezine or Website ...
Delivered Direct,
For Free!
Click For Details