Hearing loss is a serious medical issue, one that plays an integral role in our quality of life and overall health and shouldn’t be overlooked. Unfortunately, it often is. On average, people take seven years from the time they first notice hearing issues to the point where they seek help for their hearing.
However, procrastinating on a hearing exam can make hearing problems harder to overcome: when a hearing loss diagnosis is delayed, your auditory pathways change to compensate for your hearing loss. All that is to say, the sooner you seek help for hearing issues the easier it is to rehabilitate damaged hearing.
Investing in hearing aids is an investment in your health and happiness. Impaired hearing can impact your entire life, from your earning power to your coordination, when it is left untreated. Treating hearing loss helps you connect with the world around you in countless priceless ways.
Your Hearing Loss Burdens Your Brain
When you ignore hearing loss, it doesn’t just mean that you can’t hear certain sounds- it also means you are overworking your mind. When our hearing ability diminishes, the brain scrambles to regain cognition. Our brain devotes extra resources to interpreting the sounds we can hear, and shortchanges other parts of our cognition.
Many people with untreated hearing loss may pay a serious price for this reallocation of cognitive function. With untreated hearing loss, people have a significantly higher occurrence of falling accidents. Compensating for hearing loss lessens the brains ability to make the proper decisions to maintain coordination and balance.
Untreated hearing loss also has a role in increased rates of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Even though we may think our brain has adapted to our hearing loss, in truth, our brains tend to work harder to make sense of muddled sound signals. Over time, this could lead to a heavier cognitive load, which has been linked to a potential risk for developing dementia.
Your Hearing Loss Impacts Those Closest to You
Having untreated hearing loss isn’t just a personal problem, it can affect those around you as well. Our hearing is utterly tied to our ability to communicate, and if our ability to hear deteriorates, it can strain our social relationships as well.
Communicating with a loved one who has hearing loss can be difficult and may damage relationships with friends and family. Breakdowns in communication or feeling misunderstood or unheard are more likely to happen when untreated hearing loss is a factor. Frustration and tension can build more easily when there are communication barriers, and these same frustrations are harder to overcome if root causes like hearing loss go unacknowledged. People with hearing loss live with a much higher risk of social isolation, anxiety and depression, all linked to a lack of social connection that hearing loss exacerbates.
Hearing loss cuts you off from conversing with your loved ones and hearing the conversations that mean the most to you. Hearing loss that limits your ability to hear high frequency sounds may make it hard to understand the children in your life when they talk to you.
Hearing Aids Can Make a Difference
Hearing loss takes a toll on your life, and most hearing damage is permanent, however effective treatment for hearing loss is possible. Modern hearing aids are sleek and discreet microcomputers that digitally respond to sound and facilitate hearing rehabilitation. Many hearing aids today offer options for streaming phone calls, digital audio, and even alerts from smart appliances- like doorbells or smoke alarms- directly to your ear canal.
Regaining your ability to hear helps alleviate the stresses untreated hearing problems bring into your life. In professional settings, hearing aids can help maintain on-the-job efficiency and understanding, where untreated hearing impairment is responsible for a considerable wage gap. Treating hearing loss can also keep you out of harm’s way making sure you don’t miss critical sounds, such as important noises in traffic or alarms in an emergency.
Hearing your best can help you regain confidence in public spaces and social situations. Hearing aids help you connect with the people and things you love the most.
Comprehensive Ear and Hearing
If it is time to take a closer look at your hearing, contact us at Comprehensive Ear and Hearing. Our team is committed to your hearing health in every way, from complete ear examinations to finding the perfect hearing solution for your situation and lifestyle. We are proud to offer personalized care at three convenient locations in Zeeland, Holland and Grand Haven. Contact us today to set up an appointment.