Hearing Loss is Individual

Hearing Loss and subsequent hearing impairment and deafness is a very individual thing. The impact on a person depends on their individual personality or character, upbringing, and their choice of adjustment methods and access to resources.

There are many different consequences for the impact of hearing loss on a person. 

Hearing Loss and the Individual Experience

For some, having a hearing loss may have been from birth or in early childhood, so they have always had to manage and balance the impact of their hearing impairment or deafness with growing up and handling other things in life.

For others, such as an elderly person or someone used to mixing very freely in many different sound environments, may experience feelings of shame or embarrassment because they feel they can no longer interact easily with other people through their preferred means of communication as they had in the past.

Emotional Response

Wherever you sit, you can experience good feelings and bad feelings about your hearing impairment.

Positive Feelings:

Acquiring a hearing loss or growing up with a hearing loss can result in you feeling positive, capable and able to handle whatever life throws at you. Your resilience, ability to access support services and resources, and correct diagnosis and intervention to enable you to become fluent in sign language, speaking or mix-method communication have set you up well for life.

• You feel part of a cultural group
• You have access to specific social networks and activities
• With the use of a hearing aid or other device, your life continues as it did before, and you have adjusted well
• Your family and friends love and support you regardless of your hearing health

Negative Feelings:

Acquiring hearing loss unexpectedly, or responding to discrimination while carrying out your every day responsibilities can be challenging. Lacking access to support services, not having enough information or access to resources to feel in control of your hearing health, and repeated exposure to feeling isolated and different can have a negative impact on how you feel about your life and hearing impairment.

• Depression
• Frustration
• Isolation
• Insecurity and anxiety 
• Low self esteem or self worth.
• Difficulty in concentrating in some situations

Can all be addressed by accessing trained professionals and resource services that are designed to address these particular feelings.

Professional Help

For more information on how to respond to your particular feelings, and practical advice on adjusting to particular situations, contact your GP, or a counsellor, or your audiologist as soon as practicable.

There are a number of common social problems for people with untreated hearing loss such as problems at work or problems communicating with family and friends. This can often result in a reduced social life over a long period of time.  In turn, this can lead to loss of intimacy with partners due to communication breakdown.

Research Articles

For a more comprehensive, peer-reviewed article on the impact of hearing impairment and deafness, please access our research papers:

The Health Effects Of Hearing Loss - by Dr Anthony Hogan, ANU

References from this paper can be obtained here from Dr Hogan.