Psychology of Hearing Loss
back to "New to
Hearing Loss"
It seems pretty obvious that hearing loss has pretty
significant psychological effects on people. Fortunately, scientists are
finally starting to study these effects on people with hearing loss who
are not Culturally Deaf.
August 2000 - Edna Shipley Conner presented a workshop
on the Successful Coping Attributes of the Hearing Impaired at the 2000
SayWhatClub conference. Here is a workshop summary.
August
2000 - In her 1969 book entitled "On Death and Dying", a
renowned Swiss-American psychiatrist named Elisabeth Kubler Ross
presented the five psychological stages that terminally ill people go
through - denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. It was
later realized by professionals and laymen alike that people often
experience these same stages as they cope with other losses. Of
particular interest to us, of course, is the fact that people respond to
their hearing loss with these same emotions. Grieving
Over Hearing Loss explores these similarities.
December
2002 - Those of you who were fortunate enough to attend ALDACON 2002 in
Orlando, FL, probably got to experience Dr.
Harvey's Keynote Address firsthand. For the less fortunate, here's
the text of the address. It's very powerful stuff!
January
2003 - Here's a great presentation on alleviating the
stress of hearing loss.
August 2003 - Here's
an absolutely fascinating discussion of some of the psychological
aspects of hearing loss. The discussion took place on an email list
that focuses on hearing loss and the workplace.
March
2005 - Here's a report on Susan Roberts'
"Positive Thinking and Hearing Loss" workshop, presented at
the 2005 SHHH-CA Convention
September 2005 - "No two people have the same
reaction to life circumstances. Hearing loss can induce observable
psychological effects at various points in development. The potential
psychological effects of hearing loss are different for children and
adults, and an individual's personality affects adaptation to hearing
loss and cochlear implants. In general, hearing loss makes interaction
with the outside world difficult. Having a hearing loss has been
described as an invisible handicap, especially in the social realm. In
fact, Helen Keller once said that deafness cuts one off from people,
whereas blindness cuts one off from things". Here's
the complete article as presented in the "ASHA Leader".
December 2005 - People who have not experienced sudden
hearing loss are generally unable to imagine the impact it can have on a
person's life. But it's easy to imagine that the assistance of a good
coach might be crucial in helping someone overcome that experience. Here's
Bonnie O'Leary's report on a 2005 SHHH Convention workshop on this topic.
January 2006 - Anger Over Hearing Loss
is Common Emotion
January 2006 - We
expect to have some negative reactions when we learn that we need a
hearing aid. People may be surprised to learn that they have negative
reactions when a friend needs a hearing aid!
March 2006 - Here's Jim Lemonds'
very insightful article on how hearing loss affects people, and on some
of the things we can do to reduce the impact of hearing loss.
July 2006 - Why People Delay Dealing
with Hearing Loss
October 2006 - ALDAcon
2006 Presentation - Coaching and Late Onset Hearing Loss - A Partnership
that Works
January
2007 - Psychotherapy
Quiets Concerns Over Ringing in the Ears
July 2007 -
Here's our report on
the stress management workshop from the 2007 HLAA convention.
July 2007 - How to
Avoid Unhealthy Responses to the Challenge of Hearing Loss - Presented by
Terry and Denise Portis at the 2007 HLAA Convention
July 2007 - 2007 HLAA
Convention Research Symposium: Adapting to Hearing Loss and Quality of
Life: A Psychosocial Look at the Effects of Hearing Loss
July 2007 - Hearing Loss And Depression: Not a Lost Cause
February 2008 - Psychologically Speaking: Do you hear what
I hear?
June 2008 - Lost in the Fog: Psychological Aspects of Adult
Onset Hearing Loss
January 2009 - Hearing Aids
Dissipate Depression
July 2009 - Effectiveness of Informational Counseling on
Acceptance of Hearing Loss Among Older Adults
July 2009 - 2009 HLAA
Convention: Dementia Misdiagnosis and Hearing Loss
March 2010 -
What Your Patients
May Not Tell You
April 2010 -
Hearing loss may cause isolation
July 2010 - Hearing Loss: A Threat to Mental
Health
July 2010 -
Hearing Loss in Older
Adults - Its Effect on Mental Health
October 2010 - Deafness can
lead to divorce
October 2010 - Link between Hearing Loss and
Depression Highlighted
December 2010 -
Holiday Season Can Be
Especially Difficult for People with Hearing Loss
December 2010 -
The Communication Confidence Profile: A vital, but
overlooked subjective domain
February 2011 - Dementia Symptoms Include Hearing
Loss
July 2011 - HLAA
Convention: Surviving the Stress of Hearing Loss: What You Can Do
August 2011 -
Stigma and Self-stigma Associated with Acquired
Hearing Loss in Adults
December 2011 - The chicken and the egg: Cognitive decline and hearing loss
December 2011 - Study Shows Hearing Aids Improve
Quality of Life
January 2012 -
What do we really know about hearing loss and
cognitive function?
January 2012 -
Hearing loss and dementia: protecting yourself from a
misdiagnosis
More on
this and related topics
back to "New to
Hearing Loss"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 2003
You've met Bob MacPherson of bhNEWS (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bhNEWS)
many times in this newsletter. I don't understand when Bob sleeps,
because he's always finding and reporting interesting hearing loss news
- in addition to running a business. Anyway, he recently posted a link
to a great presentation entitled "Alleviating the Stress of Hearing
Loss" by Dr. Jennifer Sowards. Please point your browser to:
http://www.ncrar.org/Alleviating%20the%20Stress%20(1)_files/frame.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 2006
Hearing loss can be more frustrating and annoying than most people
imagine. Trying to understand what someone is saying while only hearing
half of what is said is exhausting. Add to that the poor communication
habits that most people have, such as speaking without facing the
person, and daily communication can become a difficult experience. Few
people would disagree that there is a lot of anger among people who have
hearing loss. That anger is boiling under the surface and comes out over
what appears to be a minor annoyance. Full
Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 2006
My friend has announced
surprising news. In the near future, Bill, as I will call him, intends
to get a hearing aid. Family members have been telling him that he often
does not hear what they are saying to him, and he has noticed himself
missing what others tell him. You would expect me, as a more or less
rational person, to welcome Bill's decision to invest in hearing
assistance. After all, I'm the guy who years ago in another column
approved of Bill Clinton acquiring hearing aids for each ear. Full
Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July 2007
Joe had always been an upbeat and busy person,
enjoying a wide range of activities with his family and friends. Then, as
he was nearing his 80s, Joe's happy disposition and positive outlook on
life suddenly changed. He became uncommunicative and withdrawn. What
happened to Joe? "I started to realize that I was losing my hearing," he
recalls. "All the activities I used to enjoy, like going to concerts and
the theater, I couldn't do anymore." The breaking point came when Joe's
grandson was in a school play and "I couldn't hear a thing, even though I
sat in the front row. I saw his lips move and people were applauding, but
I had the surreal feeling that I wasn't even there. It was devastating; as
if a black cloud descended on my life." That darkness had a name:
depression. Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
February 2008
I've had many a young patient who presented with
behavioral problems and low frustration tolerance when part of their
problem was actually a hearing loss. I've also seen families who are quite
angry at a family member for the wrong reason, and that reason is a
hearing impairment. Last week, I sat in my daughter's dance class and
experienced the pain of music being far too loud, and then drove in the
car in which family members had the volume turned up way too high. Here
are just a few (among many other) signs of hearing loss:
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 2008
I met Paul on a hot, hazy, and humid day in
Boston. The weather and other things were making me a bit cranky. But I
managed a smile when I greeted him in the waiting room. He was 50 years
old and very depressed. Although he had been profoundly deaf in his right
ear since birth, he had managed this quite well. Paul had been extroverted
and a successful salesman. That is, until about 10 years ago when, for
some unknown reason, he lost all his hearing in his "good ear." He
couldn't do sales anymore. He suffered from severe tinnitus, which he
described as a "high pitch motor whirring." That internal noise robbed him
of his sleep. He suffered from a host of medical conditions as well. In
his words, he felt like "throwing in the towel."
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July 2009
The incidence of hearing loss increases with age.
Hearing impairment ranks third among the most prevalent chronic health
conditions in the elderly. The main avenue for treatment of sensorineural
hearing loss is hearing aids. Randomized control trials have shown that
veterans assigned to receive hearing aids experience significant
improvements in social function, communication function, and depression
after 4 months compared to a control group and the improvements are
sustained 1 year after the hearing aid fitting. Based on a systematic
review of literature, Chisolm et al concluded that hearing aids improve
Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) by reducing psychological, social,
and emotional effects of hearing loss. Unfortunately, few adults seek
treatment for hearing loss. For example, Popelka et al found that only
about 20.7% of individuals with any hearing loss use hearing aids. This
statistic has not changed much over the years. In 2005, about 31.5 million
individuals in the United States reported hearing difficulty but only
about 6.2 million (20%) individuals were active users of hearing aids.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April 2010
Joyce Bell of Attica recognized the tell-tale
signs of hearing loss creeping up on her about a year ago. "I noticed I
was having to say 'huh' and have people repeat themselves," the
67-year-old said. She also had to turn up the television really loud. But
the main downside to hearing loss has been how it affects her social
circle. Bell usually travels to restaurants and to play Bingo with her
friends, who drive large vehicles. "I can't hear at all in the back seat,"
she said. "So I just quit going with them. I think I'm more of a stay at
home person than what I was because it's just very difficult to hear."
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
December 2010
A comprehensive assessment of the impact of
hearing loss requires both objective and subjective measures because, by
its nature, any communication disorder involves more than changes in
audibility alone. Cognitive declines, emotional and psychological
reactions, and how communication strategies are employed all affect the
degree to which hearing loss impairs communication. Many aspects of these
factors and the overall outcome cannot be measured effectively in
laboratory conditions, so real-life experiences and subjective impressions
are vital. Subjective outcome measures are important to professionals
because they can determine success from the patient's perspective,
evaluate the appropriateness of rehabilitative plans (including hearing
aid candidacy, readiness, and selection), and demonstrate efficacy to
third-party payers. They are important to our patients because they may
identify conditions needing improvement, establish realistic expectations,
verify if these expectations were met, help patients determine if benefit
was achieved, and demonstrate efficacy to the patient and family.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 2011
In 2010-2011, the Ida Institute (www.idainstitute.com)
and its faculty-which included Leslie Jones, PhD, Patricia McCarthy, PhD,
Christopher Lind, PhD, and Jean-Pierre Gagné, PhD-organized a series of
seminars on the theme Living Well with Hearing Loss. This venue provided
the faculty members with an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of
"living well with hearing loss." Because of their academic and research
interests, it was obvious to the authors of the present article that, for
many individuals, a major obstacle to "living well with hearing loss" is
the social and self-stigma associated with hearing loss. In order to live
well with hearing loss, one must recognize and accept hearing loss.
Specifically, many people must overcome the misplaced shame and poor
self-esteem that they may experience. Only then is it possible to seek
solutions to the difficulties attributable to their hearing loss
experienced in everyday activities. Once this is achieved (if ever), they
can extend their audiologic rehabilitation (AR) goals to activities that
they identify as components of living well.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 2012
Competing schools of thought exist on the effects
of hearing loss on cognitive function. Studies reporting an association
assert that declines in sensory acuity limiting the flow of information to
the brain cause declines in cognitive abilities. But other studies
reporting no association have argued that the decline in sensory acuity, a
peripheral decline, does not necessarily affect central function. In some
cases, an individual may become more resourceful and tap into more
cognitive resources to compensate for the reduction in sensory input,
leaving researchers perplexed about whether there is an effect. From the
studies I reviewed, variability in study design appears to contribute to
inconsistent results, such as those that included research participants
with well-fitted hearing aids that compensate for hearing loss. Results
were also confounded by researchers who employed different methods to
quantify hearing loss or who failed to account for demographic factors
that may have affected cognitive function.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 2012
If you are of a certain age and have some gray in
your hair, you will likely find yourself a victim of ageism. As with all
"-isms," ageism is the practice of making assumptions about a person's
intelligence and abilities based solely upon superficial facts-in this
case, age-and taking actions based upon those assumptions. This leads to
misconceptions, biases, and mistakes. So, how does this affect you?
When ageism is coupled with hearing loss, it can be a dangerous
combination in medical and emergency situations. It is not unusual for
people with a hearing impairment to end up in an ambulance and/or an
emergency room without anyone being aware of their hearing loss.
Full Story
