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Not hearing clearly sounds like it should be a simple problem. Like, it should be simple enough to visit your doctor so you can maybe get an answer to why this is even happening in the first place. Well, that, and maybe turn the volume up, ask someone to repeat themselves, move on. But in real life, it’s not simple. Basically, it’s the furthest thing from that, and instead, it's really subtle. Well, not just subtle, but it’s pretty exhausting too. Well, all of that, plus, it can mess with mood in a way people don’t always connect back to hearing at all.

Now, just keep in mind here that it’s not just the sound itself, actually, it’s a lot more than that. It’s also about the constant effort of trying to keep up. It’s about the awkward little moments that stack up. It’s about doing mental gymnastics all day long and wondering why the brain feels fried when it’s still just the afternoon. While it might not sound like a big deal, it sincerely is.

Your Brain is Doing Extra Work All Day

Just go ahead and picture a normal day. Maybe it's something really small like a quick chat in the kitchen, or a phone call during work, or a cashier asking a question while there’s background noise. Well, in moments like these, they are tiny, pretty tiny, but at the same time, it’s making your brain work hard, like your brain is having to try and fill in some blanks. And that blank-filling is work. It’s concentration, guessing, context clues, reading lips, trying to catch key words, and pretending the rest makes sense. But it’s constant, it just keeps happening untilthe conversation itself just ends. 

It’s not comfortable mentally speaking either, because there’s so much effort, and so much pressure to not “look like a fool” to not make mistakes. So if you’re dealing with all of this, then it honestly might be time to finally look into getting some support. Basically, you need support rather than another stressor, and some people find that music helps regulate mood, and it can help them if they’re dealing with hearing loss. But music therapy for hearing is a common route that people do use when they’re dealing with hearing loss, which you could look into, too.

The Exhaustion is Physical and Social

For your average person here, when hearing is hard, socializing can start feeling like a performance. Like you’re trying to look normal while you’re missing pieces. So you nod. You smile. You laugh when everyone else laughs. You ask someone to repeat themselves, then feel annoyed for doing it, even though you shouldn’t. 

All of this gets so exhausting, and it gets to the point where you want to pull away, where you’ll tell yourself you’re too tired, and become distant. This is one of the main reasons why elderly people become lonely, it’s due to this.

The “What?” Cycle Can Mess with Confidence

Again, it’s about not looking and not feeling like you’re a fool. And so repeatedly missing words can make people feel out of it, even if they’re not. It can make someone feel older than they are. It can make them feel like they’re losing sharpness, when really they’re just not getting clean audio input. It really can affect confidence in all sorts of ways.