Think back to the last time you had a deep and fulfilling conversation with a friend or loved one. What made it so memorable? Where were you, and what did you talk about? Now consider how many times you asked your friend or loved one to repeat themselves, or couldn’t understand what was being said.It’s likely that your most fulfilling conversation with a loved one didn’t include you asking them to repeat themselves, or to speak up. Connection, after all, usually happens when things flow naturally and we are able to focus our energy on what is being shared with us.For those that experience hearing loss, the realities of more difficult and tense conversations is very real. Age-related hearing loss most often affects our ability to understand speech, so we often find ourselves struggling to keep up with conversations or in social environments.So, can a hearing aid improve our relationships with friends and family? The answer is an overwhelming yes. Here are just some of the ways that hearing aids help us lead richer and more fulfilling lives with our loved ones.Those that suffer from hearing loss often find they are exhausted after challenging sound environments, including restaurants and social gatherings. It can be difficult to simply understand what one person is saying, much less an entire group! As our hearing deteriorates, we often find that we withdraw from social situations that would leave us exhausted and embarrassed.Finding a hearing aid that can not only amplify sounds used in speech – but also help amplify speech coming from a certain person or group of people – can prevent this withdrawal. Those that begin using a hearing aid will often find that they feel more social and happier around people. That makes not just the hearing aid wearer happy, but their loved ones happy, too!When we lose our hearing, we most often lose our perception of higher-frequency sounds first. Those sounds are common in the voices of children, whose voices are higher-pitched than those older than them. Of course, it is often difficult to explain to children that we have difficulty hearing or understanding them, so those with hearing loss often feel they are missing out on important opportunities to connect with their children and grandchildren.When we use hearing aids, we are able to hear these higher-pitched voices more clearly. There’s no longer a need to ask a child to repeat themselves or to create distance in our connections with them. This is often one of the most profound reasons we seek out hearing solutions. We only get so much time with those that we love!We often spend time with our loved ones outside of our home – often in restaurants, at parties or even outdoor events. When we leave our homes and go to unfamiliar locations, however, we often find that they are more challenging sound environments. Ambient noise and sound interference can make it hard to focus on the sounds we need – like speech or music.A hearing aid means we can filter out these distracting ambient sounds and amplify more important sounds, like conversations in a movie or over a dinner table. Certain hearing aids even connect wirelessly with hand held microphones or have directional microphones we can control with a smartphone app for even more control!If you are finding that your relationships are suffering because of possible hearing loss, now is the time for a hearing test. Contact our team about scheduling a test and starting your journey toward better hearing.