Hearing loss has been described as an invisible disability ... it can affect almost every aspect of your life. Everyday sounds can become a challenge i.e. speaking on the telephone, hearing the television or listening to music. Communicating with others can be difficult and stressful.

Hearing loss causes immediate loss of confidence bringing a feeling of inferiority and excessive sensitivity. Perhaps with the loss of hearing the background noises in your life contribute to the sense of isolation. The everyday sounds of comfort (people's voices, footsteps, birds, cat purring etc.) or sounds of warning or sounds of information are diminished. Life becomes full of uncertainty. For example, when living alone should the doors be locked? If so, how could I be reached in an emergency? Would I hear the fire alarm? When visiting with friends or family, is the bathroom free - is the door shut because someone is inside or is the door just normally kept shut? Group conversation - when do you join in - or has someone said this already? Has the subject been changed? The light is behind the speaker and shining right into my eyes, I can't hear a single word he is saying. I don't know what we are talking about. We need to have those questions answered so our stress level can come down to normal and we can relax. When we are relaxed, we can participate in the conversation and interact with friends and family and our personality begins to shine through.

No two people have the same reaction to life circumstances. Hearing loss in adults is very different than my experience of being born with hearing loss. In adults, personalities already have developed i.e. they have had jobs, families, hobbies, etc. as hearing people. When hearing loss occurs, it can be very disorienting, may often causing an identity "crisis". One may have to learn to develop new "personality". The hearing loss could have an impact on personal image and identity, career, family and social relationships.

Hearing loss can affect your life in many ways. You may miss out on talks with friends and family. On the telephone, you may find it difficult to hear/understand what the caller is saying. Sometimes you feel embarrassed, upset and lonely. It's easy to withdraw when you can't follow the conversation at the dinner table or while visiting in your living room. It's easy for friends and family to think that you are confused, uncaring or difficult when in fact the problem is that you cannot hear well.

How you cope with your hearing loss is different for everyone. I often say to people, "Imagine that one day you got fired from your job". Some people get a new job in a couple of weeks and rejoice on how they were able to get an even better job while others struggle for a number of years trying to get over being fired. It will be the same thing with your hearing loss. Some people learn quickly how to hear with their new hearing aid, while others take a little longer. People who lose hearing later in life, face their own challenges. They may have to adapt to using hearing aids and to learn speechreading. Loneliness and depression can arise as a result of isolation and difficulty in accepting their disability.

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, hearing loss is the most common sensory impairment in adults over the age of 65, affecting more than 30% of Canadians. Hearing loss is serious: not only does it affect the physical sense of hearing, it affects overall well-being. Because of the communication difficulties it creates, hearing loss can lead to withdrawal from family, friends and social situations.

The Canadian Hearing Society Awareness Survey in October 2001 discovered:

•  1 in 4 Canadians report having a hearing loss;
•  8 in 10 Canadians have worked with or have family or friends with deafness or hearing loss;
•  1 in 6 Canadians would rather live with hearing loss than use a hearing aid;
•  1 in 8 people avoid dealing with someone who is hard of hearing;
•  Average age of those experiencing hearing loss is 51 - nearly 1 in 4 are under age 40 and 7 in 10 are under age 60.

People with hearing loss often report that their communication difficulties resulted in "increased feelings of isolation, depression, loneliness, anger, fear, frustration, and disappointment". It doesn't have to be that way. All any of us want is to be understood, to be appreciated and to feel worthwhile.