You can wind up in the hospital if you don’t properly manage your hearing loss symptoms. You may think that this is somewhat of an exaggeration. We usually consider hearing loss as not much more than an inconvenience – something that makes the news a little harder to hear or, at worst, makes you unknowingly agree to something you didn’t mean.
But current research is causing alarm about the long-term health effects of untreated hearing loss.
How is Your Health Linked to Hearing Loss?
Hearing loss doesn’t, at first sight, seem as if it has very much of a link to other health concerns. But research carried out by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health indicates that neglected hearing loss can lead to a 50% increase in hospital visits over time. The chance of severe health issues rises the longer hearing loss goes untreated.
That seems like a strange finding: how is your total 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 concerns connected to hearing loss:
- Higher instance of anxiety and depression. Basically, the chance of depression and anxiety rises with hearing loss and that will lead to health issues both physical and mental.
- Loss of balance. Hearing loss can make it harder to keep your balance and keep your situational awareness.
- You start to lose your memory. In fact, your odds of getting dementia is twice as high with untreated hearing loss.
Hearing Aids: A Real Answer
There’s some good news though. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School research suggests that up to 75% of hearing loss related mental decline can be stopped in its tracks by one basic solution: wearing a hearing aid.
Wearing a hearing aid has a profound impact on putting an end to the dangers associated with neglected hearing loss. The following improvements were noted in people who wore hearing aids for as little as two weeks:
- Reductions in traumatic brain injuries.
- Improvements in awareness and balance.
- Improvements in brain function.
Over a period of around two decades, Johns Hopkins collected and examined data from over 77,000 individuals. And an essential part of preserving your health lies in protecting your hearing which is a surprising outcome. Taking care of your hearing health also helps your financial well-being, because being sick costs money.
Preserving Your Hearing And Your Health
Hearing loss is a perfectly common part of the aging process, though it’s not exclusive to getting older. Hearing loss can develop at any age as a result of occupational hazards, accidents, or diseases.
However, it’s important to address any hearing loss you may be noticing. Otherwise, your health could be negatively impacted.