Tiredness can have a wide range of causes, ranging from a simple sleepless night to respiratory problems such as sleep apnea. But many people are surprised to learn that chronic fatigue and exhaustion can also be due to something relatively common: hearing loss.
To some extent, that’s because hearing loss can be a gradually-moving, subtle condition. You may find yourself continuously exhausted for no apparent reason because you failed to recognize the symptoms of early hearing loss. This experience can be quite frustrating. Additionally, this exhaustion can often result in irritability and, eventually, social isolation. Fortunately, your energy levels will normally increase once you get your hearing loss treated.
Your brain will compensate for gradually developing hearing loss
For the majority of people, hearing loss is a very gradually-progressing condition that gets worse over time. In its early stages, you likely won’t even notice that you’re developing hearing loss. Even common symptoms, like turning the volume up on your TV and smartphone, can be easy to miss if you’re not looking for them.
Exhaustion is one of the most noticeable symptoms of hearing loss. You might feel tired no matter how much rest you got the night before. Regrettably, many people don’t intuitively link this symptom with hearing loss.
That’s because the cause happens in your brain. When your ears aren’t getting as much information, your brain works harder to make sense of it all. This continual extra work is exhausting in the same way that extended periods of concentration can take a toll. Left untreated, this exhaustion can get worse over time, impacting your quality of life and your ability to perform daily routine tasks.
Stigma plays a role
So when individuals begin to feel tired, why wouldn’t they just visit a hearing specialist? There are many explanations: often people are busy or thinking about other things. But the perception of stigma is another cause which can be even more detrimental. There’s an impression that hearing loss is terrible or ruins your life or that there’s nothing you can do about it. Individuals will often avoid seeking treatment because of these false ideas.
However, this stigma is beginning to disappear as more people become open to their hearing loss. Many individuals understand that hearing loss is not some kind of social failing, and the very small construction of modern hearing aids makes them easy to hide around folks who unfortunately will not get over this stigma.
Unfortunately, this perception of social stigma can cause individuals in the early stages of hearing loss to avoid getting the treatment they need resulting in more serious permanent hearing loss.
How to manage hearing loss-associated fatigue
There are often no obvious symptoms of early stage hearing loss. That makes it difficult to effectively take a reactive approach, and it’s why many hearing specialists favor preventative techniques. Hearing specialists recommend regular screenings in order to establish a baseline of your healthy hearing, that way they will be capable of identifying changes to your hearing in later screenings. Once this baseline is achieved, early intervention is often far more effective.
If your hearing loss is causing fatigue, there are a few steps you can take to minimize that exhaustion as much as possible. Here are a few of the most common and easiest steps:
- Consult a hearing specialist: Keeping an eye on the condition of your hearing is important. When hearing loss is in its early stages, your brain doesn’t need to work as hard as it does when the condition gets worse, and a hearing specialist can diagnose hearing loss when it first begins to develop.
- Try to find more quiet, isolated areas for conversations: Sorting out voices from background noise can be challenging when you have hearing loss (often whether you’re wearing hearing aids or not). Moving conversations to an area with less background noise can make it easier for your brain to focus on the voice you’re attempting to hear, reducing fatigue in the process.
- Make sure you wear your hearing aids as frequently as you can: One of the main functions of hearing aids is to clarify human speech, making understanding conversations a lot easier. This means you won’t be as tired because your brain won’t have to work so hard.
- Take breaks from conversations: In between conversation, take a quiet rest somewhere. Your brain is working overtime to participate in conversation and brief rests will make that more sustainable.
So if you’re feeling an unusual amount of fatigue and tiredness, with no discernible cause, it might be time to plan a visit to your hearing specialist. Treating hearing loss can help you reduce your exhaustion and boost your energy. Don’t neglect your hearing loss because you’re concerned about the stigma.