Susan began her full time career with Welsch Hearing Aid Company in December, 1984 as the Office Manager. On March 5, 1985, she became a State Licensed Hearing Instrument Specialist. In 1994, she passed her National Board for Certification Examination.
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While hearing loss is extremely common, it affects everyone just a little differently. Some experience fatigue in social situations, while others report frustration and depression. It’s common for many people to shy away from social situations and be less inclined to put themselves in new situations. While it’s possible to avoid some of these difficult issues by treating hearing loss with hearing aids, most people report feeling frustrated as they struggle through conversations or feeling embarrassed when they mishear something. Hearing loss is a permanent condition and can build up over years when unaddressed—so much that family members, friends and coworkers will note a remarkable change in your overall mood, disposition, and personality.
Researching Hearing Loss and Personality
Mood is described as “a temporary state of mind or feeling. Some go as far to categorize mood as either positive or negative. As time goes on with untreated hearing loss, many may report feeling in a constant negative mood, which can affect relationships, and some may even say a person’s personality. To better understand the impact on personality a team of researchers at the University of Gothenburg examined the effect of hearing loss on mood and personality on 400 subjects between 80 to 98 years old. The test group was tested biannually over a six-year span for physical and mental health. In addition, they were monitored for changes in personality traits such as extraversion, introversion, outgoingness, and emotional stability.
The results of the testing displayed that most of these older adults exhibited less traits of extroversion. While this is in part attributed to changes in physical and cognitive health, also common with aging, hearing loss was the only consistent factor related to higher introversion in the test subjects “Surprisingly, we did not find that declining overall health and functional capacity make people less outgoing,” explains Anne Ingeborg Berg, PhD, researcher at the University of Gothenburg. “But hearing loss directly affects the quality of social situations. If the perceived quality of social interaction goes down, it may eventually affect whether and how we relate to others.”
Hearing Loss and Social Isolation
We as humans are social creatures. Sure, we love our alone time, but we need regular social interaction more than many of us may realize. When we struggle to hear it becomes much more difficult to connect to people every day. Hearing loss often develops slowly over time, degrading our ability to detect certain tones and pitches—particularly for consonants in speech such as “f”, “s”, and “h”. These sounds can get confused for one another, having a surprising impact on our ability, even in the early stages of hearing loss, to follow spoken conversations.
As communication becomes more difficult to follow, we may feel a higher cognitive exertion from even a tiny interaction. Before we know it, many with untreated hearing loss find themselves opting out of social situations. You may come up with elaborate excuses to avoid family gatherings or group celebrations. This can affect our mood over time, causing chronic social anxiety, depression, loneliness, self-isolation and more.
Addressing Mood by Treating Hearing Loss
While hearing loss may affect long term mood and personality, the good news is that you can subvert these effects by screening for hearing loss and addressing it as soon as possible. Sadly, the majority of people who have hearing loss wait seven to ten years from the time they suspect they have a hearing loss to take action around hearing loss. During this time, close to a decade of depression and social isolation can take its toll on an individual, increasing the risk of cognitive decline, sedentary lifestyle, and a refusal to try new things.
Stop depression in its tracks by taking control of your hearing health today. The first step is to schedule a hearing exam with us. We can determine the extent of your hearing loss and discover the best method to help you hear loud and clear. Growing older is hard, but when you are proactive around your hearing loss you can regain many aspects of your life that you’ve always loved. Connect again with the people in your life who make it better by scheduling a hearing exam today.