Getting older isn’t easy. It’s a season of change – and many of these changes can leave a person feeling frustrated and fearful. That’s because some of those changes are health related.
Two of the health issues that crop up as you age are vision and hearing loss. Because you’ve come to depend on your sight and hearing, losing either or both can be a traumatic time of adjustment.
It can leave you feeling depressed and dependent. Health problems can sometimes hasten problems with vision and hearing loss. Medications can also be at the core of these issues.
We don’t like to talk about losing our sight or our hearing because we link both of these senses to independence. All of us feel the need to be free to come and go as we please.
We don’t want to inconvenience others, ask for help or feel like we’re a burden in any way. Unfortunately, there may come a time when we have no choice but to face the facts about what’s going on with our bodies.
Another reason that people don’t like discussing hearing or vision loss is because the fear is also linked to other fears we have. Both men and women have a fear that when they begin to lose these two senses, it changes how others view them – especially an intimate partner.
Men feel like they’re less than what they once were and women struggle with self-esteem issues related to losing any part of these two senses. Losing some of one or both of these senses also changes the way that we communicate.
Many sighted adults that begin to have significant vision loss struggle with the idea of living in a world that’s no longer clear. If the vision loss is drastic, many adults can’t bear the thought of living in a dark world after having had their sight.
The reaction to hearing loss is the same. Minor hearing loss can cause some irritation, but if the loss is significant, it can cause fear and anxiety as well as irritability, demanding that people speak up.
Many people put off going to the doctor when they first begin experiencing symptoms because some of them are afraid of what they might be told. But in a lot of cases, both hearing and vision loss can be treated and partially or completely restored.
By going in for a visit, you can rule out any underlying healthy problems. Plus, you can also have your medications checked to see if they’re interfering with your hearing or vision.
