Africa-Press – Lesotho. Hearing loss is said to exacerbate the effects of depression. According to Kutlong Centre for Hearing Founder Khotso Kebise depression can affect anyone
but the situation is even worse to people with hearing loss. “Such a person’s mind needs stimulation of sound so when he does not receive such they end up being dormant.
So that person ends up developing depression. That is the psychotic perspective of depression and hearing,” he noted. He further indicated that other than that the social aspect of hearing loss is
that a person who has hearing loss tends to miss a lot of information portrayed to them. He made an example with a student in class while learning and then end
up not grasping enough then fail their studies; he said that causes depression and stress to such a student. He added that even old people develop depression
and end up isolating themselves from the public because they are misinterpreted and regarded as egoistic even though they have a serious mental disorder.
“Statistics show that most youth who have hearing loss are at a high risk of committing
suicide or experiencing suicidal thoughts. Such youth tend to be opposed by others and even at school they end up not learning in a comfortable way then
end up failing their studies, some of them even have unconscious depression which then turns into a serious state hence they end up committing suicide,”
Kebise concluded. In an interview with Mosa Mpokothi, she mentioned that depression is a mood disorder that a lot of people fail to understand, where people dealing with it
can have several moods swings in just one day. She mentioned that a person with depression can be spotted by their actions towards people whereby they begin to
isolate themselves, being tired almost every time, cutting themselves, not eating well, developing insomnia. “It is mostly caused by trauma, either a generational trauma, loss of a loved one
or actions of abuse either physically, emotionally or verbally. People often underestimate it thinking it is a joke or that a person needs attention. Victims of depression often commit suicide and it is an issue that needs to be
addressed from the grass roots,” she said. Depression is a significant contributor to the global burden of diseases and affects people in all communities across the world.
Today, depression is estimated to affect 350 million people. The World Mental Health Survey conducted in 17 countries found that on average about 1 in 20 people is
reported to have had an episode of depression in the previous years. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2012 report, depression is a common
mental disorder that presents with depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, decreased energy, feelings of guilt or low concentration. Moreover, depression often comes with symptoms of anxiety.
These problems can become chronic or recurrent and lead to substantial impairments in an individual’s ability to take care of his or her everyday responsibilities.
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