You can wind up in the hospital if you don’t properly manage your hearing loss symptoms. I know that sounds like an exaggeration. Most people think of hearing loss as an inconvenience that makes it hard to hear the TV or what someone is saying at worst.
But new research is ringing alarm bells about the long-term health impacts of untreated hearing loss.
How is Your Health Linked to Hearing Loss?
At first sight, hearing loss doesn’t seem to have that much to do with other health indicators. But research conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health indicates that over time, visits to the hospital can increase by up to 50% for somebody with untreated hearing loss. The longer the hearing loss goes untreated, the more severe the health troubles become.
That seems like a curious discovery: what does hearing have to do with your overall health? That question can have a complicated answer.
The Connection Between Mental Health And Hearing
Here are a few of the health problems associated with hearing loss:
- Higher instance of anxiety and depression. Basically, the likelihood of anxiety and depression increases with hearing loss and that will lead to health problems both physical and mental.
- Loss of balance. Hearing loss can make it more difficult to keep your balance and keep your situational awareness.
- Memory can start to fail. As a matter of fact, your odds of developing dementia double with untreated hearing loss.
Hearing Aids Really Help
It’s not all doom and gloom, however. Far from it. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School research indicates that up to 75% of hearing loss associated cognitive decline can be halted by one easy solution: wearing a hearing aid.
The health risks linked to hearing loss can be seriously mitigated by wearing hearing aids. The following improvements were revealed in individuals who used hearing aids for as little as two weeks:
- Improvements in brain function.
- Awareness and balance improvements.
- Traumatic brain injury reductions.
Over a period of roughly two decades, Johns Hopkins collected and analyzed data from more than 77,000 people. And a crucial part of maintaining your health lies in safeguarding your hearing which is a staggering conclusion. 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 not exclusive to getting older but it is a part of it. Hearing loss can happen at any age as a result of occupational hazards, accidents, or diseases.
However or whenever you lose your hearing, it’s extremely important to have it checked. Your health could depend on it.
