When you think about hearing aids, intimacy most likely isn’t the first thing you think about. We get it. The advertising on these little devices is relatively straightforward. Love, on the other hand, is something better suited for poetry, music, and art.
But you may want to start viewing your hearing aid as an intimacy device due to the strong connection between your hearing and your relationship. After all, when doctors, researchers, and hearing specialists discuss “social isolation due to hearing loss,” they’re also pointing to isolation from your partner. Which means it isn’t just chatting with the cashier at the grocery store that becomes more difficult, it’s also maintaining your most significant and intimate relationships.
That doesn’t mean someone with hearing loss isn’t able to form deep bonds or of experiencing beautiful, enduring relationships. It’s just that doing so takes particular care and well-practiced adaptations. If you’ve been losing your hearing slowly and over time, you likely haven’t developed those extra skills, as a result, your relationships could suffer.
True intimacy, though, and enhanced personal relationships can come from something as basic as wearing a hearing aid. Hearing aids can have a positive impact on your love life in the following ways.
Improved communication
Obviously, healthy relationships call for good communication (though, it is often harder to practice than it is to preach). Everybody will feel more appreciated and valued with strong communication allowing stronger emotional connections and decreasing arguments.
But hearing loss can intensify normal communication hurdles in the process making a difficult task much harder.
Here’s how a hearing aid will be most beneficial:
- The quieter, whispered moments won’t get lost. Let’s be truthful, it’s not pillow talk if you have to shout. You and your partner will enjoy those hushed quiet experiences with hearing aids.
- You’ll have more energy for communication.When you experience hearing loss, speaking and listening can take a lot of energy, leaving you feeling depleted. With a hearing aid, chatting can be fun and energizing again.
Your partner won’t have to be your translator
Going out with friends won’t be all that much fun when your partner spends most of their time repeating everyone for your benefit. But if you can’t hear what’s happening all night, that won’t be very fun either. It’s easy to see how this arrangement could cause resentment.
A hearing aid can help protect your independence. Your partner won’t need to order your food at a restaurant or be your translator when you’re at a dinner party. In addition, it will be easier to continue going out and socializing on your own! This means you’ll have adventures and stories that you can bring back to your partner, enriching your relationship in the process.
Your partner’s needs will be more accessible to you
Your partner’s life will be a whole lot easier in so many ways if you can hear more. Maybe you jump up and help with dinner because your hearing aids allow you to hear the cook timer ring. Or perhaps you ask your partner if they need help when you hear them stumble on the floor. You will have the chance to ask your partner what’s wrong if you hear them complain under their breath.
All of this may not sound like much of a big deal. But added up, these little gestures show your commitment and compassion. They show you care. And that will make you a good partner. A hearing aid makes that a lot easier to achieve because you’ll pick up on those sometimes discreet audio cues.
You won’t miss the power of a whisper
You may have a hard time hearing those breathy whispers shared during intimate moments when you have hearing loss, especially if it has progressed so gradually you didn’t even detect it. And let’s be truthful, those quiet sounds are part of the fun of romance. You will once again be able to experience the power of a whisper. Which means you’ll be capable of enjoying the intimacy of your partnership in a more profound way.
Helping Your Relationship
To be sure, a hearing aid isn’t going to solve every problem with your relationship. And if you do have hearing loss, you can still have romance. The point here is that a hearing aid will make certain aspects of your love life more pleasurable and more enriching.
So when hearing loss blocks your connections, your relationships can get dicey and it can be tricky finding the reason. Make an appointment with us, a hearing aid could return welcome intimacy to your love life.