In the more than 40 years since I got my first hearing aid, I have learned one profound truth: Losing one’s hearing can lead to social isolation and that too often leads to depression.
If you can’t hear in a restaurant, or club, or a cocktail party, or a church, and if you get tired and embarrassed to be constantly asking people to repeat themselves, it is much easier to stay home alone and watch TV with captions. What other people enjoy, you approach with dread.
In this new normal where wearing a mask can safe your life, it can also make it easy to fall back into social isolation and depression.
My hearing is now 60% less than a person with “normal” hearing. I wear a hearing aid in each ear. Without them I live in a world of muffled sound. Without them the television gets turned up loud enough for the neighbors to hear. Without them a conversation is a series of mumbled phrases, nods, and uh-huhs.
My husband also has a serious hearing loss. Totally deaf in one ear from Meniere’s disease, he wears a hearing aid in the “good” ear.
“What?” is the most common word heard in our house.
Hearing loss and depression are an issue for people of all ages. In 2014 a study by the U.S. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders found a significant association between moderate to severe depression and hearing impairment. As hearing declined, the percentage of depressed adults increased — especially for women and those younger than 70.
This is a plea for people with normal hearing to think about the person six feet away from their mask. You likely can’t see my hearing aids or know that subtle lipreading is part of my every in-person interaction.
I am writing this because of two medical appointments this week. Even with my great hearing aids, I could barely understand people speaking at a normal level behind their masks. More of the “What did you say,” “please, speak up,” frustration.
Bottom-line: this is NOT an argument against wearing a mask in public. We know that COVID-19 is spread by tiny droplets carried by our breath. We know that wearing a mask, along with keeping a physical distance from friends and strangers, is a way to reduce the chance of catching the virus or giving it to someone else.
Simply, please, think about the person you are speaking with. Ask if they can hear you. Try to be aware of their unease. With a hearing aid store in practically every shopping center, hearing loss is a common issue for thousands of Sarasotans — maybe even the next person you meet.
Beverly Dame moved to Sarasota three years ago. She spent 30 years working in public relations, communications and writing for nonprofits in Washington, D.C., and wrote a column in the real estate section of The Washington Post.
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June 18, 2020 at 05:10PM
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GUEST EDITORIAL: Please ask if I can hear through your mask - Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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