I later learned why this hearing aid stigma harmed me.
I am 26 years old.
The answer is probably both.
My poor hearing has meant that Ive always struggled to take part in social situations.
I dont know that someone is behind me trying to get my attention, so I dont answer them.
I cant follow the train of a group conversation, so I zone out.
…
I mishear verbal instructions, so I do the wrong thing.
To anyone who doesnt know about my hearing loss, I can seem rude or ignorant.
For me, I feel left out of social interactions.
Its Amazing How Its All Connected.
My actual response to the suggestion that I might need a hearing aid was, Im not a grandma.
Around 7 percent of people in their twenties have noise-induced hearing damage, and this risk increases with age.
The audiologist brushed it off, Nobody will ever notice these tiny hearing aids with all that hair.
He had a point.
My hearing aid isnt visible when I wear it with my hair down.
But if it was, that shouldnt be a problem.
And yet another major barrier to younger people using hearing aids is the cost.
The results were quite literally ear-opening.
In the office and in the pub, I could hear everything people said to me.
Id just never heard it before.
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