World Listening Day 2025: How Hearing Loss Affects Relationships – and What We Can Do About It

July 18, 2025 – (Innsbruck, Austria): In a world filled with noise, true connection comes through listening. On World Listening Day 2025, MED-EL, a global leader in hearing implant technology, calls attention to an often-overlooked consequence of hearing loss: its impact on relationships.

• Hearing loss affects quality of life and relationships, not just hearing.
• MED-EL shows how restoring hearing can rebuild connection.
• World Listening Day is a reminder to prioritize hearing health.

“In 50 years of marriage, we never argued as much as we did when he could not hear me anymore,” recalls Herta, wife of MED-EL Johann user  who received a cochlear implant after years of progressive hearing loss. “It was not just about missing words. It was about missing each other.”  This deeply personal experience mirrors what millions silently endure.

A Global Health Challenge with Personal Consequences

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 1.5 billion people globally live with some degree of hearing loss – a figure expected to rise to 2.5 billion by 2050. While hearing loss is often seen as a medical condition, it is also a relational one, affecting the fabric of our daily lives, from marriage and family to friendships and work.
The consequences of ignoring hearing loss go far beyond missed conversations. They include:

• Increased social isolation
• Higher rates of depression and cognitive decline
• Strained family and romantic relationships
• Decreased participation in social activities
  

“Untreated hearing loss does not just isolate individuals – it isolates couples, families, and entire communities,” says Dr. Patrick D’Haese, Director of Awareness & Public Affairs at MED-EL. “We must change the perception that hearing loss is just a personal issue. It is a shared experience – and restoring hearing can restore relationships.”

What People Fear Losing Most: Each Other

A recent global survey by MED-EL highlights the emotional weight of hearing loss:

• 64% of respondents said the sound they would miss most is the voice of a family member or partner
• 1 in 4 said they would miss the sound of laughter
• 30% of respondents aged 35 to 44 said they would especially miss the voices of children.

These findings reflect a universal truth: hearing is not just about sound – it is about connection. When hearing fades, so can the small, everyday moments that hold relationships together: shared jokes, whispered reassurances, spontaneous conversations. For many, the loss of these moments is more painful than the silence itself.

Reconnecting Lives

With hearing solutions from MED-EL, people around the world are experiencing a new beginning – not just in sound, but in connection. Many couples report that a cochlear implant has helped them rediscover communication, closeness, and joy. 

“Our relationship has changed in that it is much easier to communicate with each other now”, says Jane, wife of MED-EL user Colin. “The communication is also much more relaxed. Colin is no longer as dependent on me as before the hearing implant because I was the only one who could hear properly.” Stuart, partner of MED-EL user Jacqui, adds a similar experience: “It has made our relationship really work.”

These stories show: Hearing loss does not have to define lives. Modern hearing solutions can save not only hearing, but also relationships.

Simple Steps Can Change Everything

World Listening Day 2025 invites us all to think more deeply about the role listening plays and reminds us that hearing is not just about sound. It is about being heard. MED-EL encourages everyone to take one simple step: check your hearing. Whether through a first free online hearing test, a visit to an audiologist, or simply starting a conversation with a loved one – listening starts with awareness.

About MED-EL

MED-EL Medical Electronics, a leader in implantable hearing solutions, is driven by a mission to overcome hearing loss as a barrier to communication and quality of life. The Austrian-based, privately owned business was co-founded by industry pioneers Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair, whose ground-breaking research led to the development of the world’s first micro-electronic multi-channel cochlear implant (CI), which was successfully implanted in 1977 and was the basis for what is known as the modern CI today. This laid the foundation for the successful growth of the company in 1990, when they hired their first employees. To date, MED-EL has more than 3,000 employees from around 90 nations and 30 locations worldwide.
The company offers the widest range of implantable and non-implantable solutions to treat all types of hearing loss, enabling people in 139 countries enjoy the gift of hearing with the help of a MED-EL device. MED-EL’s hearing solutions include cochlear and middle ear implant systems, a combined electric acoustic stimulation hearing implant system, auditory brainstem implants as well as surgical and non-surgical bone conduction devices. www.medel.com 

CEO

Doz. DI Dr DDr med. h.c. Ingeborg Hochmair

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