Hearing Loss or Selective Hearing

Hearing loss can be a very stressful, not only for the person who’s losing their hearing, but also for their spouses and other loved ones. Hearing loss can put a severe strain on any relationship, especially if it’s untreated or undiagnosed. The problem is that many people are resistant about going to a doctor for their hearing issues.

The easiest and best way to tell if your loved one is losing their hearing is to go to a doctor and get a simple hearing test. However, while it may be easy for them to do, that doesn’t mean that it’s easy for you to convince them to do it. Often people don’t want to admit that their hearing is going. They’ll refuse to get tested because they assume their hearing is fine and they just don’t want to go through the hassle of having a test (or admitting they have a problem).

While they’re not nearly as accurate as a hearing test by a doctor, there are different screening tools for hearing loss that you can find online. These can’t be used as a recommendation for treatment, but if the tests indicate a problem it may be easier to convince your loved one they need to see a doctor. Plus it’s much easier to talk them into doing a simple exercise online than booking an appointment and taking time out of their day to go see a specialist.

If your spouse is adamant against going to a doctor or taking other tests to see if they have a hearing problem, you may be able to determine whether they are going deaf or just not paying attention to you by paying closer attention to them. If your spouse is in a quiet room and doesn’t hear you tell them to do something, but can hear you making a snack while the TV is on, they may just not be listening to you. You may also be able to notice hearing loss by listening to how loud they keep the TV or radio or if they tend to listen better to what you are saying when they can actually see your lips moving.

We often use the term “selective hearing” to describe when someone is simply ignoring what you say, but just because someone has good hearing, doesn’t mean they can actually hear you. Hearing is not only a product of the ears, it’s also a product of how the brain interprets the information the ears are sending it. They may actually have an attention problem or similar disorder.

While your loved ones hearing loss may be annoying to you, it may be dangerous to them and to others. While ignoring hearing loss may seem harmless, it could mean them missing the warning honk of a car or someone calling for help. That’s why it’s important to see a specialist to find out if there really is a problem.

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