You can end up in the hospital if you don’t correctly manage your hearing loss symptoms. You may think that this is a bit of an exaggeration. Most individuals think of hearing loss as an inconvenience that makes it difficult to hear the TV or what somebody is saying at worst
But the long-term health effects of neglected 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 appear to have much to do with other health indicators. But research conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests that neglected hearing loss can lead to a 50% increase in hospital visits over time. The longer the hearing loss goes untreated, the more severe the health troubles get.
That’s a curious 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
Untreated hearing loss has been associated with several other health problems, including:
- An increase in anxiety and depression. Basically, the likelihood of depression and anxiety increases with hearing loss and that will lead to health problems both physical and mental.
- Balance balance issues. Hearing loss can make it more difficult to keep your balance and maintain situational awareness.
- Memory can begin failing. In fact, your odds of getting dementia is twice as high with neglected hearing loss.
Hearing Aids: A Real Solution
It’s not all gloom and doom, however. Far from it. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School research indicates that up to 75% of the mental decline linked to hearing loss can be stopped in its tracks by one basic solution: wearing a hearing aid.
Wearing a hearing aid has a profound impact on eliminating the dangers linked to untreated hearing loss. The following improvements were noted in individuals who used hearing aids for as little as two weeks:
- Improvements in balance and awareness.
- Improvements in brain function.
- Severe brain injury reductions.
The researchers from Johns Hopkins studied data from 77,000 patients collected over about twenty years. And what they found is surprisingly simple: protecting your hearing is essential to maintaining your health. 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 typical part of getting older, though it’s not exclusive to getting older. Hearing loss can happen at any age as a result of accidents, occupational hazards, or diseases.
However, it’s important to acknowledge any hearing loss you might be experiencing. Otherwise, your health could be negatively impacted.