Husband Refuses to Admit He Cannot Hear!

Hi,  Thank you so much to this forum.  My husband refuses to admit he has a hearing problem.  It is SO frustrating to constantly have to repeat everything 3 and 4 times. I realize that you aren't miracle workers, but I was wondering if you have any suggestions that might help getting my husband in for testing?  

Sandy M

[Rachele M Orsini, Au.D.]

HI Sandy, thank you for submitting this question.  As an Audiologist I deal with "denial" on a daily basis.  The best way to get past the denial is to educate my patients about the dangers of untreated hearing loss and tell them that they are not alone. In fact, hearing loss is more common than heart disease, kidney disease and cancer.  There are many consequences of untreated hearing loss including social withdrawal, isolation, anxiety, depression, increased visits to primary care physicians due to a general decrease in overall health AND by far the most important is that untreated hearing loss has been linked to MEMORY LOSS including dementia and Alzheimers.  It is important for patients to know that our ears send the signal to our brain and our brains require auditory stimulation to stay active....when you have hearing loss that goes untreated, you are not providing that stimulation to the brain and over time we see brain atrophy start to occur.  This is why hearing aids are so important, they have been proven to improve the quality of life for patients and they provide that auditory stimulation that our brains need.  I hope this answer will help you convince your husband to at least go in and have a hearing test.  I would be happy to mail you information about this topic.  You can email me your mailing address at ***@**** and I'll get information to you this week.  You can also find an abundance of information about hearing loss and untreated hearing loss at the Better Hearing Institute at www.betterhearing.org

Thank you!
Rachele Orsini, Au.D.

[Sandy M]

Dear Rachele,

Thank you SO much for this wonderful answer!  I printed this out and left it on our coffee table about a week or so ago.  I'm happy to report my husband has an appointment with an audiologist next week.

Sandy M