Hearing loss is not uncommon as you get older. Some people have hereditary factors that contribute to their hearing loss, while others attended lots of loud concerts when they were younger. You may also lose your hearing due to working at a job where you were around lots of loud noises for many years and you did not have the proper ear protection.
When your overall hearing health declines, that might lead to you having some feelings that you are not able to control very easily. We will talk about the link between hearing loss and depression right now.
What is Depression?
Depression is a blanket term that might include various conditions and symptoms. Most people understand that general feelings of sadness or hopelessness go into depression and form its basis.
The term depression can be used with people who have these feelings infrequently, but more often, it’s used with individuals who often feel sad or hopeless. Chronic depression develops when a person has negative feelings, and they don’t know what to do to get out of that mindset.
Hearing Loss Can Make You Feel Isolated
Those who are depressed often report feeling isolated from those around them. They may feel alone even when they’re in crowds. They might have trouble explaining to friends and family members exactly what’s bothering them.
Hearing loss can make you feel isolated as well, so it should come as no surprise that there’s a possible link between the two conditions. If you start to lose your hearing, then it’s likely that those around you may not try to communicate with you as much. It follows that you might start feeling depressed because of that.
What Can You Do About This?
Mental health specialists can try to make you feel better if you’re dealing with depression. The same thing is true for those with hearing loss.
Ideally, if you have some hearing loss, then it will not be total. You may be able to wear a hearing aid, and that might be able to enhance the hearing that you have left. Hearing aids are more advanced these days than they ever were before, so this is definitely possible.
If you’ve completely lost your hearing, then you may want to see a mental health professional so that they can work with you till you’re at a point where you no longer feel so depressed. Maybe they can suggest some ways for you to communicate with your family so you can feel that you are more a part of what’s taking place around you.
Both you and they might be able to learn sign language. There are other possible ways that you might communicate as well.
If you can learn to become more engaged with those around you, even if you have lost your hearing entirely, then you will likely feel less depressed. Once you understand how common the link is between these two conditions, that can motivate you to alleviate these negative feelings you’re having.
Featured Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay
