You’ve noticed recently that your husband’s hearing is declining. When the whole family gets together, he disappears into his own world and can’t really keep up with the subtle nuances of the conversation.
Sometimes you get the impression that he is trying to guess what you just said or studying your body language to work out what kind of reaction you expect from him. Not to mention talking over the phone, which is virtually impossible without shouting.
A sensitive topic
Mette Weber is a family counsellor and conflict supervisor specialising in communication, which helps families improve their ability to talk about sensitive topics such as birth, sickness and even death.
A hearing loss can be a sensitive topic when the person closest to you refuses to acknowledge to having a problem. Especially when the affected person is your husband with whom you are so close, and he is the person you have always shared everything with.
Talking about hearing loss is often quite taboo and we don’t want to be reminded of the fact that we are getting older. For many people, a hearing aid represents old age and getting used to the idea might take time. Even though modern hearing aids are very discreet, it is a big deal emotionally.”