hearing loss and spouses
Married couples share the most intimate of relationships. Husbands and
wives share life's joys and disappointments as they work to build a
strong and enduring partnership. They will likely have moments of great
joy as well as moments of grief. They will have disagreements,
arguments, and fights. If they are like most couples, they will fight
about money, sex, and relatives. In half of all marriages the
relationship will deteriorate to the point of dissolution, and divorce
will result.
Adding hearing loss to this mix provides an additional challenge that
must be met if the relationship is to be successful. In a relationship
in which communications is the key, degraded communications does not
bode well for success. Scientists have studied marriages between a
person with hearing loss and a person with normal hearing and have found
that communications issues augment the problems associated with
conventional marriages. Learn about hearing loss issues from the
perspective of the spouse with hearing loss and from the perspective of the hearing
spouse.
These issues are complex, as are the dynamics of each relationship.
Furthermore, each relationship is different, and behavior that is
acceptable to one person may not be acceptable to another. Suggested
resolutions will not be applicable in all situations, and may be totally
inappropriate in some. The important thing is to recognize that the
described situations are common, and that they have been confronted and
overcome by millions of couples.
We all know that hearing loss can make it harder to maintain good
communications, and that relationships can suffer if care isn't taken to
keep the lines of communications open. Laine and Rex Waggoner look at
these issues in their ALDACON 2000 Healing
Relationships Hurt by Hearing Loss workshop.
September 2005 - Here's a press release about a
book that examines the effects of hearing loss on the hearing spouse.
August 2006 - Couples must learn art, science of
hearing loss
May 2007 - Here's
our coverage of the Hearing/Deaf Couples Workshop at the 2007
SayWhatClub Conference
May 2007 - Hearing Loss Negatively
Affects Relationships
July 2007 - University
Offers Classes to Help Couples Adjust to Hearing Loss
October 2007 - Spouses Also Affected by Hearing
Loss
July 2008 -
HLAA Convention -
Stand by Me
May 2009 - A deaf ear can keep a
marriage happy
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July 2007
But being the spouse of a person who has a genuine
hearing problem comes with a set of real-life challenges and a range of
emotions. "Anytime you've got an impact on communication in a dynamic like
husband, wife ... it can be frustrating and cause depression and all those
things on both sides," said John Greer Clark, an associate professor of
audiology at the University of Cincinnati. Often, the person who has a
hearing loss feels 100 percent to blame for the difficulties and
frustrations, but communication is a two-way street, said Clark, who
teaches a workshop on living with hearing loss. "One thing I say is, 'How
many people here have a spouse that talks with their head in the
refrigerator?' because we all do it," he said. "The spouse has some things
they've got to learn." To that end, the University of Louisville is
offering classes specifically designed for spouses -- or spouselike
partners -- as part of a research study being led by Jill Preminger, an
associate professor of audiology.
Full Story
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October 2007
Being the spouse of a person who has a genuine
hearing problem comes with a set of real-life challenges and a range of
emotions. "Anytime you've got an impact on communication in a dynamic
like husband-wife ... it can be frustrating and cause depression and all
those things on both sides," says John Greer Clark, an associate professor
of audiology at the University of Cincinnati. Often, the person who has a
hearing loss feels 100 percent to blame for the difficulties and
frustrations, but communication is a two-way street, says Clark, who
teaches a workshop on living with hearing loss. "One thing I say is, 'How
many people here have a spouse that talks with their head in the
refrigerator?' because we all do it," he says. "The spouse has some things
they've got to learn." For one thing, it's important for partners to
speak clearly when addressing the hearing impaired, said Jill Preminger,
an associate professor of audiology at the University of Louisville. "A
lot of people rush through their words, and when you speak very quickly
you don't clearly articulate every speech sound," she said. Hearing aids,
though helpful, do not result in perfect hearing. Spouses need to know
that, Preminger says.
Full Story
