Fatigue can have a variety of causes, ranging from a simple sleepless night to respiratory conditions such as sleep apnea. But many individuals are surprised to learn that persistent fatigue and exhaustion can also be caused by something relatively common: hearing loss.
To some extent, that’s because hearing loss can be a slow-moving, subtle condition. You may find yourself constantly exhausted for no apparent reason because you failed to recognize the symptoms of early hearing loss. This can be a frustrating experience. Additionally, this exhaustion can frequently lead to irritability and, eventually, social isolation. The good news is that treating your hearing loss will often boost your energy levels, reducing fatigue and exhaustion.
Hearing loss moves slowly (and your brain compensates)
For the majority of individuals, hearing loss is a very slow-moving condition that grows worse over time. You may not even realize that you have a hearing loss at first. If you’re not specifically watching for them, even conspicuous symptoms, like turning the volume on your audio devices way up, can be easy to miss.
One of the harder to miss symptoms of hearing loss is often fatigue. You might feel tired no matter how much sleep you got the night before. This symptom, unfortunately, isn’t usually associated with hearing loss.
Because the cause takes place in your brain, the symptoms aren’t generally considered an ear problem. Your brain has to work extra hard to process sound because of the loss of your ability to hear, which can leave you fatigued. In the same way as extended periods of intense concentration can leave you worn out, the additional brain power required to hear what individuals are saying can be exhausting. Your ability to perform daily tasks and your general quality of life can be significantly impacted over time as your neglected hearing loss grows worse.
Stigma plays a role
So why don’t more individuals just visit a hearing specialist when they start feeling tired? One partial reason is that people just don’t associate tiredness with hearing loss. But there’s another reason that may inevitably be more damaging: stigma. People often feel like others will think they’re old if they have hearing loss and that admitting it will ruin their lives. Individuals will frequently avoid pursuing treatment because of these false ideas.
However, this stigma is starting to fade away as more individuals become open to their hearing loss. Many individuals understand that hearing loss isn’t some type of social failing, and the very small nature of modern hearing aids makes them easy to hide around folks who unfortunately will not let go of this stigma.
It’s unfortunate that this social stigma can make it harder for people to find the care they need because this frequently leads to hearing loss that gets worse over time when it might not need to.
How to deal with hearing loss-associated fatigue
There are frequently no apparent symptoms of early phase hearing loss. That makes it challenging to effectively take a reactive strategy, and it’s why many hearing specialists prefer preventative approaches. Hearing specialists advocate for routine screenings in order to establish a baseline of your healthy hearing, that way they will be capable of identifying changes to your hearing in later screenings. Early treatment will be much more effective once we have determined that baseline.
If your hearing loss is causing fatigue, there are a few steps you can take to minimize that exhaustion as much as possible. A few of the easiest and most common measures include the following:
- Schedule an assessment with a hearing specialist: It’s important to monitor your hearing health. When hearing loss is in its early stages, your brain doesn’t need to work as hard as it does when the condition gets worse, and a hearing specialist can identify hearing loss when it first begins to develop.
- Try to have conversations in quieter places: When there is a lot of background noise, it can be difficult to sort out voices, even with hearing aids in some cases. Moving conversations to a location with less background noise can make it easier for your brain to focus on the voice you’re trying to hear, minimizing fatigue in the process.
- If you have hearing aids, wear them as frequently as you can: Hearing aids are manufactured to help you focus on the sounds of human speech, meaning conversation will be substantially easier to understand when you are hearing them. This means you won’t be as fatigued because your brain won’t need to work so hard.
- Take breaks from conversations: In between conversation, take a quiet break somewhere. This can help your brain recuperate from all the work it’s doing and make everyday communication a bit more sustainable.
It’s probably time to make an appointment with a hearing specialist if you’re experiencing fatigue with no obvious cause. You can minimize your fatigue and boost your energy by treating your hearing loss. Don’t let stigma cause your hearing loss to continue to be neglected.