You can wind up in the hospital if you don’t properly manage your hearing loss symptoms. I know that seems like an exaggeration. We usually consider hearing loss as little more than an inconvenience – something that makes the news a little more difficult to hear or, at worst, makes you unwittingly agree to something you didn’t mean.
But the long-term health impacts of untreated hearing loss is beginning to get significant attention from researchers.
How is Your Health Related to Hearing Loss?
At first sight, hearing loss doesn’t seem to have that much to do with other health indicators. But research carried out by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reveals that over time, hospital visits can increase by as much as 50% for somebody with neglected hearing loss. The longer the hearing loss goes unmanaged, the more significant the health troubles become.
That seems like a strange discovery: how is your general state of health linked to your ability to hear? That question can have a complicated answer.
The Connection Between Mental Health And Hearing
Here are a number of the health problems associated with hearing loss:
- Higher instance of depression and anxiety. Simply stated, untreated hearing loss can increase depression and anxiety, which will then have a powerfully negative effect on your physical body, not to mention your mental health.
- Memory can start to fail. In fact, your odds of getting dementia is twice as high with neglected hearing loss.
- Loss of balance. Hearing loss can make it more difficult to keep your balance and keep your situational focus.
Hearing Aids: An effective Answer
There’s some good news though. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School research indicates that up to 75% of the mental decline associated with hearing loss can be stopped in its tracks by one basic solution: wearing a hearing aid.
Wearing a hearing aid has a powerful impact on mitigating the dangers connected to neglected hearing loss. According to the study, people who used hearing aids for only two weeks saw:
- Improvements in brain function.
- Balance and awareness improvements.
- Severe brain injury reductions.
The researchers from Johns Hopkins looked at data from 77,000 patients collected over about two decades. And a crucial part of preserving your health lies in protecting your hearing which is a surprising conclusion. Being sick usually costs money, so taking care of your hearing also safeguards your financial well being.
Caring For Your Health And Your Hearing
Hearing loss is not exclusive to getting older but it is a part of it. Hearing loss can occur at any age because of occupational hazards, accidents, or diseases.
However, it’s essential to acknowledge any hearing loss you might be noticing. Otherwise, your health could be negatively impacted.