Watching sports with Ted is extremely difficult. He has the volume cranked up so loud the walls rattle, and you surely can’t tune in to the game. All you can hear is the roar of the crowd hammering against your body, punctuated by the ear-shattering staccato of the announcer’s play-by-play calls.
It isn’t at all enjoyable. But for Ted, it’s a normal volume. Everything needs to be at max volume for him to be able to hear it, making it pretty obvious that it’s time to consider hearing aids. How to discuss this with him is the difficulty. It should be a straightforward conversation, but he seems overly sensitive about the topic.
The following are some recommendations that may help.
You Can Recommend he Gets a Basic Hearing Test
Ted needs an expert to inform him about his hearing. Other people may not sound as credible when they talk to him about it. If that’s the case, the strategy will be convincing Ted (or anybody like him) to come see us.
One of the following strategies might help you do that:
- Offer to get a screening with him. This can make beginning the dialogue easier. You might discover that you also have some degree of hearing impairment (it could depend on how long you’ve been exposed to a high-volume noise).
- Attempt to make him feel more at ease by letting him know that it’s just a simple assessment. In the vast majority of cases, hearing screenings are fast and easy. His hearing will be categorized by frequency on an audiogram. The significance of the results can then be clarified by us.
Comment on Hearing Loss Behaviors
Hearing loss is often indiscernible because it advances so slowly. Certain subconscious behaviors often develop when this occurs. You can hint in a subtle way that Ted needs a hearing aid by focusing on these behaviors.
Try something like the following:
- Point out instances where you have to translate what someone said. It might happen like this: your friend says something at dinner, Ted doesn’t hear or understand it, and you need to repeat what they said to Ted because you’re closer to him.
- Remind Him that he’s not talking on the phone as much as he once did because he has a difficult time hearing what his friends are saying on the other end.
- Informing him that his family has observed him straining to hear. Each year it seems like fewer and fewer people are going over to see the Big Game and that could be because the TV is so loud.
The goal during these talks is to keep your discussion centered on these behaviors rather than the ailment. Instead of talking about how Ted is experiencing hearing loss, point out how his hearing loss effects people in his life.
Talk About Hearing Aid Technology
Antiquated ideas of how a hearing aid impacts your appearance and what hearing aids do, in some instances, leads to reluctance to wear one. It might not be a bad idea to emphasize the innovative technology used by modern hearing aids.
The following are some examples:
- Some hearing aids have added features, such as the ability to translate in real-time or track key biometrics better than some commercial fitness trackers.
- Modern hearing aids are typically extremely small and almost totally imperceptible to the naked eye. And, modern hearing aids are also comfortable to wear. They’re not cumbersome like they once were. Most individuals will most likely never notice you’re wearing them.
- Modern hearing aids carry a huge amount of technology. Thanks to connectivity, for instance, your hearing aids will pair seamlessly with your phone or even your TV speakers. This delivers amplified volumes without feedback or noise.
Hearing aids, for many people, are a perfect extension to their other smart technology. Modern hearing aids are extremely helpful pieces of technology that allow you to enjoy live streaming.
Promote The Long-Term Benefits
Lastly, it’s worth taking time to point out the long-term advantages of hearing aids, which have been demonstrated to help people keep (or recover) their cognitive faculties. In other words, your brain health depends on you being capable of hearing clearly.
The sooner you address your hearing loss, the more hearing you’re likely to keep over time. Hearing aids are calibrated to fill in specific sound wavelengths which your ears have a difficult time discerning. When you simply turn the volume up you don’t fill in the specific frequencies that are missing.
Understanding that your hearing can be preserved by getting treatment when you first notice signs of hearing impairment will help people like Ted feel comfortable getting the help they need.