This holiday season give your loved ones the gift of better communication.

Is hearing loss causing issues in your relationships?

Studies show that untreated hearing loss can negatively impact our relationships with family and friends and particularly with those closest to us, such as our romantic partners.

This holiday season resolve to improve your hearing to give the gift of better communication to your relationships.

The Statistics

According to the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), more than 48 million people in the U.S. have hearing loss. The problem is that only 1 out of 4 people who need them wear hearing aids. That means 75 percent of those with hearing loss are putting their relationships at risk.

A 2009 British study revealed that out of 1,500 people with hearing loss surveyed, 44 percent reported that their hearing loss had caused relationships with their partner, friends or family to suffer. And 34 percent reported the breakdown in communication had actually brought about loss of relationships, including marriages.

There is Hope

Sadly, hearing loss can lead to some serious communication issues that over time affect the quality of your relationships.

Some of these are:

• Frustration

• Resentment

• Loneliness, i.e. the hearing partners feel that they are missing out on companionship

• Curtailing of social activities, withdrawal from social interaction

• Decrease in an intimate talk, joking with family

• Shared communication difficulties

• A decrease in shared activities such as watching TV

• Loss of companionship

• Decrease in communication (words are kept to a minimum)

• Difficulty in overcoming addiction - Read this useful guide to addiction and the sensory impaired by Ollie Clark.

But there is hope. Contact us at Sound Hearing Care for a comprehensive hearing evaluation and treatment options. Now is the time to improve your hearing.