Whether you’ve lost your hearing due to age, disease or injury, this sudden change can make you feel very sad, lonely and worried about the future. But fear not, in today’s world there are so many ways of helping people cope with hearing loss, that your normal life will not be as affected as you might think. The key is to become finely in tune with your other senses, to help you navigate through life and get used to the challenges of everyday life. Firstly, you need to accept the fact that you will need to use your eyes more often, scan for information and put your trust in the kindness of strangers and friends alike.
A furry friend
You could be eligible to apply for a hearing dog with your healthcare provider. The only way to know is to check, so contact your healthcare provider, and show them the doctor’s report of your hearing loss. The medical report will be significant in deciding if you need a hearing dog, considering your lifestyle and emotional needs, etc. however, if you cannot get a hearing dog from your healthcare provider, you can take your own dog to be trained by a dog for hearing loss kennel. They will train your own dog, to help you get around town. If you can’t hear sirens of an ambulance while you’re about to cross the road, your dog will hold your back. If you can’t hear somebody knocking at the front door, your dog will draw your attention towards it.
The best aid
When you have lost your hearing you will feel very vulnerable and scared. It’s like a part of the world has been stolen from you and now, the basic things have become a danger. Make your life easier by selecting one of the best hearing aids for your lifestyle needs. An over-the-ear (OTE) is large and powerful, great for someone who doesn’t mind them showing and needs them to hear minute sounds off in the distance for their work, such as in sports. You could also have the smaller in-the-ear (ITE) which is made for those that want to be more discreet and perhaps don’t have as much hearing loss. Or you could go for a more modern hearing aid in-the-canal (ITC) which is smaller still and even more discreet.
A habit of the eyes
Those with hearing loss need to rely on their vision more than ever, to get them through each day. But your eyes need to be looking at things out of habit. Every time you cross the road, look both ways but also, look at the traffic light signals, look at the behavior of other people waiting to cross and make eye contact with the drivers. You should get used to ‘scanning’ around everywhere you go, just so you can predict when someone is going to pass you by on the street and when a car might do the same. Distances need to be judged by the eye only, which means being more visually active.
Don’t ever tell yourself you can’t carry on in life just because you have lost your hearing. With a modern hearing aid and some simple visual habits, you will soon find your feet again and love life once more.
