More than 30 million Americans live with debilitating hearing loss. It’s an epidemic that particularly concerns older people, with one third of persons over 65 suffering from the condition. For people over 85, half of their peers have significant hearing loss.  But we’re culturally ill-equipped to acknowledge and treat hearing loss. A 2021 survey conducted by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association …

Notice the difference between encouraging and strong-arming when it comes to helping our loved ones confront hearing loss. We know that making demands can have the opposite effect of what we want. In many cases, the person under pressure digs in their heels and doubles down on their position.  We don’t want to cause shame, embarrassment, or fear in our …