You can wind up in the hospital if you don’t correctly manage your hearing loss symptoms. I know that sounds like an exaggeration. We’re used to thinking of hearing loss as not much more than an inconvenience – something that makes the news a little harder to hear or, at worst, makes you unwittingly agree to something you didn’t mean.
But the long-term health effects of untreated hearing loss is beginning to get significant attention from researchers.
What Does Hearing Loss Have to do With Your Health?
At first glance, hearing loss doesn’t seem to have much to do with other health concerns. But research conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests that over time, hospital visits can increase by as much as 50% for somebody with untreated hearing loss. The chance of severe health issues rises the longer hearing loss goes untreated.
That seems like a curious discovery: what does hearing have to do with your total health? The answer is challenging.
Hearing Health And Mental Health
Here are a number of the health issues linked to hearing loss:
- Loss of balance. Hearing loss can make it harder to keep your balance and keep your situational awareness.
- An increase in anxiety and depression. Basically, the chance of depression and anxiety rises with hearing loss and that will lead to health problems both physical and mental.
- Memory can begin failing. As a matter of fact, your odds of getting dementia is twice as high with untreated hearing loss.
Hearing Aids: A Real Solution
There’s some good news though. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School research indicates that up to 75% of the cognitive decline associated with hearing loss can be stopped in its tracks by one easy solution: wearing a hearing aid.
The health risks associated with hearing loss can be seriously mitigated by wearing hearing aids. The following improvements were revealed in people who used hearing aids for as little as two weeks:
- Awareness and balance improvements.
- Brain function improvements.
- Severe brain injury reductions.
The researchers from Johns Hopkins examined data from 77,000 patients accumulated over about twenty years. And an essential part of preserving your health lies in protecting your hearing which is a surprising conclusion. Being sick usually costs money, so caring for your hearing also safeguards your financial well being.
Preserving Your Hearing And Your Health
Hearing loss is a perfectly common part of getting older, although it’s not exclusive to getting older. Because of accidents, occupational hazards, and disease, hearing loss can develop at any age.
However, it’s important to acknowledge any hearing loss you may be experiencing. Your health could depend on it.