{"id":2202,"date":"2024-11-22T14:49:38","date_gmt":"2024-11-22T22:49:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/besthearing.us\/?p=2202"},"modified":"2024-11-22T14:52:24","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T22:52:24","slug":"what-to-know-about-the-link-between-hearing-loss-and-isolation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/besthearing.us\/what-to-know-about-the-link-between-hearing-loss-and-isolation\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Know About the Link Between Hearing Loss and Isolation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s vital to maintain healthy social interactions to protect mental health. Now that many parts of the world are returning to normal, people with hearing loss<\/a> still face a higher risk of social isolation and feelings of deep loneliness. Keep reading to find out how to manage and overcome these emotional challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding Social Isolation vs. Loneliness<\/h2>\n\n\n
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), prolonged loneliness can lead to serious mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and even an increased risk of suicide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A study from February 2021 found that nearly 40% of Americans reported experiencing significant feelings of loneliness, a number that surged due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. People with untreated hearing loss are at an even higher risk of these feelings. In fact, research led by Janneke Nachtegaal in 2009 showed that for every additional degree of hearing loss, the risk of loneliness increased by 7%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s important to distinguish between social isolation and loneliness. Social isolation is objective and measurable; for example, you can count the number of social interactions you have each day. Loneliness, on the other hand, is more subjective\u2014it\u2019s about how disconnected you feel. Someone may enjoy solitude, while another person could feel profoundly lonely in a crowded room. Researchers define loneliness as the gap between the social connections you want and the ones you actually experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Hearing Loss Can Contribute to Loneliness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hearing loss typically develops gradually, and as it progresses, it can make it increasingly difficult to follow conversations with friends and loved ones. This often leads to a pattern of avoiding social activities\u2014turning down invitations here and there until it becomes easier to stay home than to face the frustration of not hearing well. Over time, this withdrawal from social interactions can lead to persistent feelings of loneliness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Hearing Aids Can Help<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The most effective solution for hearing loss is wearing hearing aids. While further research is needed to conclusively link the use of hearing aids to a reduction in loneliness, many experts and their patients believe there is a positive connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People who seek treatment for their hearing loss often find themselves spending more time with family and friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’d like to learn more about treatment options for hearing loss or schedule an appointment with a hearing aid specialist, get in touch with Audiology Associates of Redding today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s vital to maintain healthy social interactions to protect mental health. Now that many parts of the world are returning to normal, people with hearing loss still face a higher risk of social isolation and feelings of deep loneliness. Keep reading to find out how to manage and overcome these emotional challenges. Understanding Social Isolation…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2205,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-audiologist","category-hearing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/besthearing.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/besthearing.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/besthearing.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/besthearing.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/besthearing.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2202"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/besthearing.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2207,"href":"https:\/\/besthearing.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2202\/revisions\/2207"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/besthearing.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/besthearing.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/besthearing.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/besthearing.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}