It’s not uncommon to see individuals afflicted with hearing loss to put off their problems with an ‘it’s not that bad’ or ‘it seems to come and go’. The social stigma of being seen wearing a hearing aid and being labelled ‘deaf’ or ‘old’ can lead to avoiding the problem altogether.
It is true that hearing loss has a grave impact on an individual’s personal and professional life. However, that’s not all. Hearing loss shouldn’t be underestimated simply as an illness independent of your overall health. It could be a repercussion of other primary diseases.
Worse, if left unchecked, it can lead to a multitude of health problems.
Surprised? Let’s look at some of the reasons why you should give your hearing health as much importance as your overall health.
7 Reasons Not To Underestimate Hearing Health
Here are a few reasons never to take your hearing health for granted!
1. Hearing Loss Can Lead To Brain Degeneration
Let’s get you to sit up and take notice of how critical the issue is. People relate to hearing as an ear function, but your ear only collects the sounds. The interpretation happens in the brain which then tells us how to respond to it. Once hearing loss begins, the brain starts to concentrate more other sensory input like sight, smell and touch. This accelerates the degeneration of brain matter or grey matter atrophy in auditory areas of the brain. Use of the right kind of hearing aids can ensure can not only let you hear all sounds again but also prevent further damage to your brain cells.
This further leads to other related ailments as also discussed below.
2. Hearing Loss Can Lead To Dementia And Alzheimer’s
Did you know that symptoms of hearing loss are related to symptoms of Alzheimer’s? Both diseases are caused by the deterioration of nerve cells in the brain. Alzheimer’s affects perception, which is also a side effect of hearing loss. Dementia is the general term given to the loss of mental abilities enough to interfere with daily life.
3. Hearing Loss Increases The Risk Of Falling
According to a study, people with even a mild hearing loss triple their risk of falling because of difficulties in maintaining gait and balance.
For every additional 10dBs of hearing loss, the risk of falling increased by 1.4 times.
How does this happen? When hearing loss begins to occur, the brain is likely to be overwhelmed by the demands on its limited resources. Many people think their gait and balance comes naturally while in reality, it is cognitive appropriation. Because hearing loss causes cognitive overload, there are fewer brain resources to help maintain balance. All the more reason not to compromise on your hearing health!
4. Hearing Loss Leads To Deterioration Of Mental Health
Hearing health is inextricably linked to mental health. When you can’t hear well, you can’t communicate effectively. This breakdown in communication structure keeps pushing people away from social interaction. It can get really frustrating because things you took for granted will suddenly become challenging. Simple things like watching television, enjoying a movie or a night out with friends becomes a constant reminder of one’s disability. It can cause one to become a recluse and even lead to depression. It leads to loss of self-confidence and further prevents you from seeking out new opportunities. It causes irritability, negativity and anger.
Further, hearing loss means that you need to get all your other senses on an overdrive for even simple tasks. This exhausting feeling has a term – Listener Fatigue. It aggravates stress and tension causing related lifestyle diseases that can affect your heart and blood pressure too.
5. Hearing Loss Can Interfere With Your Relationship
As you reach the verge of depression, your relationship with your family, friends and co-workers are likely to be strained if you do not address hearing loss as a problem. Reasonable people will want to be supportive, and you may shun their help because you don’t consider yourself having a problem. Some others may either want to take advantage of the situation or make you the butt of jokes. All of this can cause a rift in relationships further excluding you from social circles.
6. Hearing Loss Prevents You From Learning
Did you know that an average 15-year-old reads at 10th-grade level while a 15-year-old with hearing loss reads at only the 3rd-grade level? Technology has accelerated the pace at which new things are developed and experienced by adults too. Hearing loss leads to lower attention skills. It impairs children and adults from learning and comprehending new things which severely affects the opportunities available to them.
7. Hearing Loss Also Causes Income Loss
When you suffer from hearing loss, people are less likely to employ you. This is owing to the fact that you will not be able to communicate effectively with your coworkers, comprehend telephonic conversations, and may also find it difficult to fulfil regular tasks.
It’s time you take the next step…
The good news is that the sooner you treat hearing loss, the sooner you can overcome these problems. You can live a close to healthy life by choosing the right hearing aid. There is nothing to be embarrassed about wearing a hearing aid because now you know that not wearing one can have severe consequences. Transform your life for the better, and treat hearing health with the importance it deserves.
The first step is to visit an audiologist and get help in choosing the right type of hearing aid or finding a suitable solution based on your needs.
To find respite from your hearing loss woes, get in touch with Centre For Hearing today!
Call us on +91 9811227269 for a FREE CONSULTATION!
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