The New Year is a time to reflect and to dream about a better future. While we look back on all the good things that happened in the past year, we can’t escape our memories of struggles, disappointments, and failures. With those experiences before our eyes, the New Year is a perfect time to make plans for improvement. Some of us like the tradition of writing down New Year’s resolutions. Pledging to do something better is a great way to create a feeling of progress, whether or not we stick to our resolutions throughout all of 2019. Others like the practice of writing down a bad habit we’d like to break and tossing it in the trash or even burning it. These traditions can help us move ahead when the past threatens to bog us down. Although New Year’s Day is just the same as any other day, it is a way to remember where you were in years past and to look ahead to a better future.
Resolving to Improve Your Health
One of the lingering memories you may be ready to discard might have to do with frustration with your body’s limitations. If we are out of shape, some of us might regret the time we were unable to participate in a sporting event or family activity that asked us to exert ourselves. Others of us might have health conditions that kept us away from events we would have liked to attend. Still others of us have mental limitations that get in the way of fully enjoying our lives and feeling good as we move through the world. Those who suffer from mental struggles may regret the lost time they might have used engaging with friends and family or productively creating something new. Though we shouldn’t go down the path of self-blame, we look to the future with optimism that these limitations can be transcended.
How Hearing Loss Affected Your Relationships
Perhaps your struggle to hear clearly is a limitation you regret from 2018. Do you remember a social event where you were frustrated by your inability to carry on conversations with those in attendance? You might remember an awkward exchange in which you had to put together the pieces of the conversational puzzle, and sometimes the scramble to understand led to confusion. You might even feel like some of your relationships have suffered from your inability to easily hear and understand your loved ones. When conversations are strained, relationships can feel the weight of miscommunication, as well. Without the ability to confide in others and listen to them describe their feelings and experiences to you, relationships can lose their ease and depth. Even silly mistakes that resulted from misunderstanding as you travel through your life might be moments you regret from 2018.
Resolve to Improve Your Hearing
Let’s take this opportunity to turn regrets into resolutions for a better 2019! If you suffered from hearing loss last year, you know how awkward, uncomfortable, and even painful these experiences can be. Rather than dwell on the past, the New Year is a great opportunity to make concrete changes to your lifestyle, habits, and activities. If you have a hunch that your hearing may be deteriorating, or if you had any of the negative experiences listed above, the New Year is the right time to resolve to get a hearing test. Hearing tests are totally painless, quick, and easy to do, and the benefits far outweigh any inconvenience you might have completing them. The only thing you need to do is to contact us at Neighborhood Hearing Aid Center to schedule an appointment. Once you have reached out, we’ll do the rest, and administer an exam to see if you have suffered hearing loss over the past year or years. It is a good habit to have your hearing checked every year. It is possible you are hearing just fine, in which case you are on the right track. However, if the test reveals that you have suffered hearing loss, then you are in the perfect position to move ahead into the world of assistance. We’ll recommend the right course of action, whether that may be hearing aids, other assistive technology, or lifestyle changes to promote better hearing. Don’t delay in making 2019 the year that you improved your hearing – contact us today!