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 bit more difficult to hear or, at worst, makes you unwittingly agree to something you didn’t mean.
But new research is causing alarm over the long-term health impacts of untreated hearing loss.
What Does Hearing Loss Have to do With Your Health?
At first sight, hearing loss doesn’t seem to have that much to do with other health concerns. But research carried out by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health indicates that over time, hospital visits can increase by as much as 50% for someone with neglected hearing loss. The possibility of serious health problems goes up the longer hearing loss remains untreated.
That seems like a curious finding: what does hearing have to do with your overall health? The answer is complicated.
Hearing Health And Mental Health
Here are a few of the health issues linked to hearing loss:
- Memory can start to fail. In fact, your odds of developing dementia double with untreated hearing loss.
- Higher instance of depression and anxiety. Basically, the chance of depression and anxiety increases with hearing loss and that will bring about health issues both physical and mental.
- Loss of balance. Hearing loss can make it harder to keep your balance and maintain situational focus.
Hearing Aids Really Help
It’s not all doom and gloom, however. Far from it. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School research reveals that up to 75% of the cognitive 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 risks linked to neglected hearing loss. According to the research, individuals who wore hearing aids for only two weeks saw:
- Improvements in brain function.
- Reductions in traumatic brain injuries.
- Improvements in awareness and balance.
The researchers from Johns Hopkins looked at data from 77,000 patients accumulated over about two decades. And what they found is surprisingly simple: protecting your hearing is essential to preserving your health. Being sick can be costly, so caring for your hearing also protects 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 aging. Hearing loss can develop at any age due to accidents, occupational hazards, or diseases.
However, it’s important to acknowledge any hearing loss you may be experiencing. Your health could depend on it.