Anxiety is something that can affect us all at different points. It’s a sense of alertness and concern that can make us feel like we’re in danger, even when we may not be. There are various causes of anxiety, but one that has been of special interest to hearing instrument specialists is the experience of anxiety in relation to hearing loss. Here, we’re going to look at what you need to know about anxiety and hearing loss, how to know if it’s affecting you and what you can do about it.

How Hearing Loss Is Connected to Anxiety

Because hearing loss often appears gradually, it can begin to affect your life before you are even aware of it. These effects can have an impact on your quality of life and cause trouble even if you’re not aware that hearing loss is the cause. For instance, it can make communication more difficult because you might start having trouble understanding what people are saying or having to ask them to repeat themselves.

This can affect your confidence in communicating with them, and you may start to get worried that you will aggravate them by having to ask them to repeat themselves on a regular basis.

Many people with undiagnosed and untreated hearing loss may even find themselves isolated from friends, family and social events because the thought of having to communicate with people stresses them out. Furthermore, it’s also known that hearing loss leads to an increased chance of anxiety, so the relationship between the two conditions is cyclical.

The Real Risks of Anxiety

Even from a brief description, it becomes clear that anxiety is not a pleasant sensation and is best avoided or treated when you can. It affects nearly one-fifth of the adult population, and without treatment, it can get worse over time. However, often, treating the underlying causes of anxiety can then also lead to a diminishing of anxious symptoms.

Some of the signs that you might be experiencing anxiety include feeling nervous or restless, having some sense of impending danger, breathing fast, sweating, trembling and having an increased heart rate. If you have these symptoms even when you should be at rest, it’s a clear sign of an anxiety disorder.

Signs That You May Be Experiencing Hearing Loss

If you are experiencing anxiety, should you be so quick to jump to blame hearing loss? Well, if you experience any of the following signs of hearing loss, then yes:

  • Certain voices, such as children’s voices and women’s voices, become unclear first.
  • You have trouble keeping up with conversations in noisy places.
  • You have more trouble hearing certain sounds, such as f and s, which you may start to be confused.
  • You feel exhausted after social events
  • You find yourself watching people’s mouths as they talk, instead of keeping eye contact.
  • You listen to your smartphone on full volume or find the volume on your TV and other devices creeping up.

Addressing the causes of your anxiety is important. Anxious feelings can remain, but you can begin to recover and focus on treating your mental and emotional health after you have dealt with the root cause.

What Can Be Done About It?

The good news is that you don’t have to simply submit to experiencing anxiety and hearing loss without any help. Anxiety as a result of hearing loss is a problem that typically most affects those who are not treating that hearing loss. As such, if you make an appointment with your hearing instrument specialist, you can begin to alleviate that anxiety immediately.

First, a hearing test will help to get to the bottom of the matter, to find out whether you are experiencing hearing loss and to what degree. Then, the hearing instrument specialist can help you choose a hearing aid that can improve your hearing once again. It takes time to get used to hearing aids and, with an understanding of what is affecting you, you can also help friends and family communicate more effectively with you.

Get Help from Your Hearing Instrument Specialist

If you are concerned about how feelings of anxiety may be tied to hearing loss and the above signs sound familiar to you, then you should consider getting in touch with the Center for Better Hearing by calling us today at 510-768-7091. The sooner that you start to treat hearing loss, the bigger an impact it can have on your quality of life.