Hope Lanter explains how hearing loss triggers depression through a cycle of missed conversations, frustration, and social withdrawal. When people can't hear well, they stop engaging with others, their self-esteem drops, and isolation deepens the problem.
The connection between hearing loss and depression is well documented. Imagine being in a world where you're constantly frustrated or even sad because you didn't hear. You're trying to navigate a world where you're often saying, "Huh? What did you say? I missed that." Also can make you feel like you're not as smart as you used to be, not as qualified as you used to be, not as involved as you used to be, and at the end of the day, that ends up making you feel like you're not as good as you need to be. And so with self-esteem and self-image being impacted by hearing loss, we can see that there's a vicious circle that starts to happen where people can spiral downward.
