Hearing loss doesn’t just impact the person who has it. Friends and loved ones are also affected when hearing loss goes untreated. And for anyone who is helping a loved one with hearing loss or acting as a caregiver, we wanted to offer a few tips to make things easier for both you and your loved one.

1. Educate Yourself About Hearing Loss

While you may not be the one with a hearing loss, it’s important to understand it. There are different types of hearing loss, varying severity levels, and the way it can impact a person’s life, mood, and health can vary by person.

Here’s what we recommend knowing about hearing loss for caregivers:

Hearing loss symptoms – this is important to help you recognize how hearing loss may worsen over time
The impact of hearing loss – depending on your loved one’s age, this can mean how hearing loss may impact developing speech and social skills, or if hearing loss could increase the risk of dementia, falls, social isolation, and how it could impair performance at work
Options for treating hearing loss – while you should never push your loved one to treat their hearing loss before they’re ready, having a personal understanding of the options available to help the is key. This can include hearing aids, hearing technology aids (like Bluetooth connectors for auditoriums, and mobile captioning apps like Innocaption)

2. Have Honest Conversations About Hearing Loss

As a caregiver, it’s important to always keep an honest and open dialogue with your friend or loved one. It’s okay and good to talk about hearing loss. It’s okay to ask questions. For caregivers, we really recommend taking time to sit down and have an honest conversation every now and then about hearing loss and how it’s impacting your loved one. This also will help you continue to understand hearing loss and how best to be supportive and helpful.

Here are some questions to help if you’re unsure where to start:

What do you feel like you struggle with most because of your hearing loss?
Do you feel like it’s hard at work to hear on phone calls or in meetings?
Are there certain places you find it harder to understand speech in?
Does your hearing loss seem worse when you’re sick?
Do you feel like you understand me better when I sit facing you, or when I sit on your left or right side?
Do you find it easier to understand videos when you see captions too?

3. Explore Community Support Options like HLAA

Did you know that there are incredible community groups just for people with hearing loss? One of our favorites is the local chapter groups from the Hearing Loss Association of America. They have more than 120 chapters and state organizations in cities across the U.S., and it’s something that’s open to all ages.

Find a local HLAA chapter here >

Sometimes, having a community of people who are experiencing the same thing is really helpful both for people with hearing loss and their caregivers. In fact, we know from experience that often times HLAA chapters will have members who have hearing loss and who are loved ones supporting them wanting to be a more educated advocate.

4. Take Small Steps with Hearing Aids

Getting hearing aids is a very personal choice. It’s one that you cannot rush, and while you can and should encourage your loved one to try hearing aids, it’s ultimately not your call. With hearing aids, it’s a journey not a sprint.

We recommend taking small steps with hearing aids – both to get them, and afterward. Here are two resources to help.

For those exploring hearing aids, start with this easy comparison guide to help you learn about the different types, styles, and features available.
If you just got hearing aids, check out our Tips & Tricks videos to help you get the most out using them. And for caregivers specifically, be patient and kind, as with new hearing aids, it can take some time to adjust to new volumes, sounds, settings, and to find the sweet spot-on programming.

We know hearing loss can be hard, for both you and your loved one. Hopefully these tips are helpful, and if you ever have any questions about hearing loss, hearing aids, or tinnitus, just reach out to us here.