Health’s Blog

Beg your pardon?According to a recent study released by Energizer Battery, nearly half of all respondents feel that their marriage has suffered due to their partner’s hearing loss. And since more than 28 million Americans now suffer from some type of hearing impairment, this is an issue with which many couples are contending.

What’s so upsetting about hearing loss? Well, aside from the frustration (both of the speaker who is forced to constantly speak louder than comfortable, and the listener who is forced to constantly ask for things to be repeated), hearing loss can also be emotionally draining. Both partners begin to feel that their needs are not being understood as the miscommunications pile up around them.

Furthermore, the study also found that hearing loss is often accompanied by deliberate miscommunication at times. According to the survey, a husband might easily hear his wife preparing snacks in the kitchen and come running for a bite, but moments later when she asks him to take out the trash, he can’t hear her! This so-called “selective hearing” might be amusing to an outsider, but for the spouse who constantly has to repeat herself and beg for errands to be performed, it is certainly no laughing matter.

So how can couples grapple with hearing loss and keep their relationship intact during this difficult time?

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