A strong relationship has thousands of tiny moments that illustrate how you each care for the other. Whether you’re helping your partner during a job hunt, celebrating their 40th birthday with a massive bash at Duluth Grill or holding their hand through their hearing loss diagnosis and treatment journey, a little support can go a long way.
Taking a look at that last example, let’s examine why your support is essential and how you can lend it to help your partner along their hearing treatment journey.
The Benefits of Your Support
Accepting that you have hearing loss and beginning treatment with hearing aids is an emotional journey. Your partner may shift from resignation about their hearing loss to being over the moon about the clear communication hearing aids offer. Lending an ear during this time will help them work through or even celebrate these emotions for a smoother ride.
In addition to the emotional benefits, your support can also increase the likelihood of successful treatment. A large 2016 study found that patients who attended hearing aid appointments with their partner had a significantly higher rate of successful adoption (65.8%) than those who attended appointments alone (50.6%).
A 2022 study further found that the likelihood of adoption increased depending on the closeness of a relationship, with significant others showing the greatest benefit.
How Can I Help My Partner?
There are a few ways you can help your partner through the hearing treatment process:
- Listen. Listening to your partner’s thoughts and feelings is one of the most powerful things you can do to support them.
- Take notes. If you go to your partner’s appointment with them, offer to take notes. You could write down advice from their hearing specialist, information about inserting and removing their devices and any other things that you think will help your partner in the first few months of wearing hearing aids.
- Make adjustments. Your partner will go through what we call the acclimation period after getting their devices. During this period, they’ll find some sounds surprising or off-key from what they remember. Their new devices will feel natural in no time, but they may need some help making sense of the new sounds. Offer to schedule quiet time or swap out-of-the-house activities for one-on-one time at home for the first few weeks.
Hearing aids bring people together, and the process of getting them can be just as relationship-building. For more information on how you can support your partner’s hearing treatment journey, contact Hearing Wellness Center today.