subject: Dealing with Hearing Loss and Connecting with a Hearing Specialist [print this page] Recognize the steps of mourning that you may go through when you discover that you have hearing loss so that you may deal with them. In a way, losing one's hearing is like losing someone dear. Of course, it is not as serious as losing a loved one but it can certainly feel like a death of sorts. It is the loss of something you have had for your entire life and it is not coming back. It is permanent. It will change the way you live. The old you has passed in a way, and you must deal with your new life.
Mourning is the process that human beings go through when faced with the loss of someone or something dear. It includes many stages, generally referred to as the stages of mourning. No two people are exactly alike in how they deal with their mourning, but experts have discovered and named general stages that are found in most people during their period of mourning. The time period changes as does the severity. One generally experience shock, then denial, extreme sadness, anger, and even depression. In the end, the person learns to deal with the loss and move on with their lives, never forgetting the process as if it never happened. In a way the person is always able to move back into a mourning phase if memory is stirred up again.
The same process happens when someone learns that they are experiencing hearing loss. They will never be the same person again. The level of hearing they had when younger is gone. Hearing loss is permanent. Hearing aids can assist you in hearing with the loss you already have, but it can never actually restore the damaged eardrum. It cannot stop the loss of hearing caused by genetics or even cure hearing loss caused by illness or injury. The eardrum is not like a bone that grows back.
You may then move into a period of shock. Human beings are not commonly faced with the death of people dear to them so it surprises the person. It catches most by surprise, as well, when they are told that they are experiencing hearing loss. It is something that they can never completely have back.
You may experience denial at first. Since loss of hearing is permanent and feels like a sudden shock to the system, humans deal with the shock through a period of denial. It allows them to ease the blow.
Extreme sadness may then follow your shock. People naturally become sad when someone or something is lost. This can last long or short periods of time as well as differ in severity, yet it is likely to occur to some degree.
Sometimes, in differing amounts, people experience anger when faced with loss. It is the way people protect themselves. They project their loss onto someone or something else. Sometimes they take their anger out on themselves. It lets them release their built up emotion.
The sadness can lead to depression. Unfortunately, all the emotions one faces can last long enough to cause depression, sometimes severe. While this is natural in mourning, it should not be permitted to remain. If you find that you cannot work yourself out of this phase, speak to a loved one or seek help from someone. You do not need to stay in this stage in order to truly mourn. Mourning should end eventually.
As you work through your hearing loss, you should be speaking and working with a hearing specialist in order to get connected to hearing aids that can help you function in your daily life. This can also help ease the severity of your mourning since you will be taking proactive steps to move on. It will give you a sense of power and accomplishment over your hearing loss.
Dealing with Hearing Loss and Connecting with a Hearing Specialist
