Anyone with better hearing in one ear than the other always has greater difficulty localising sound and judging how far away it is. We also need balanced hearing to know the direction from which a sound is coming. Crossing the road on foot, driving a vehicle, responding to fire, smoke or intruder alarms at home, in the workplace or public buildings, and awareness of another person approaching who may mean us harm are all part of the daily, even constant, need for good hearing to protect our personal safety and physical wellbeing. We are often more likely to hear a potential threat to our safety before it becomes visible, if it can be seen at all. The dependence on good hearing for personal safety shouldn’t be taken for granted. Yet, how easily the enjoyment of the world of sound can be spoilt or made impossible by unassisted hearing loss which in many cases could so easily and effectively benefit from hearing technologies and personalised, professional support. Whilst we are all individuals and have different interests and needs, these sounds are part of enjoying life to the fullest extent. Listening to music, television and radio, going to the cinema or theatre, attending a place of worship, going to meetings to learn or simply for pleasure as well as listening to the sounds of nature can all be affected by the state of hearing. Hearing for experiencing sounds around usĪs important as communicating with other people certainly is, hearing matters for all the pleasure it can bring and the difference it can make to our quality of life. Relationships can quickly begin to suffer with the strain of trying to cope with hearing loss even to the point of a complete breakdown in communication when a hearing loss is allowed to go too far before seeking professional help and support. Too often, this leads to avoiding such situations or increasing reliance on a partner or friend with better hearing. Misunderstanding what’s been said can be very frustrating for both listener and speaker and can make socialising with friends and family gatherings a difficult, far less pleasurable experience. Without good hearing in both ears, understanding what a person is saying needs more concentration and can be very tiring, especially if several people are talking or there’s background noise. Our ability to communicate with other people is heavily dependent on our ability to understand speech which is one of the most complex sounds we have to listen to. As the famed 20th-century activist and educator, Helen Keller, once said, “Blindness cuts us off from things, but deafness cuts us off from people”.Īlthough it’s true that the greater the hearing loss, the more severely our ability to communicate is affected, the impact on daily life of milder forms of hearing loss should never be underestimated or ignored. Most importantly, hearing connects us to people enabling us to communicate in a way that none of our other senses can achieve. Matlock & District Hard of Hearing ClubĪs one of our most important senses, the ability to hear enables us to connect to the world for many very important, even vital, reasons.HoHo (Hard of Hearing Organisation) (North Shields).Folkestone & District Hard of Hearing Club.Hearing loops frequently asked questions. Partners & family stories of hearing loss.How to communicate with someone with hearing loss.
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