You can end up in the hospital if you don’t correctly manage your hearing loss symptoms. I know that seems like an exaggeration. We’re used to thinking of hearing loss as little more than an inconvenience – something that makes the news a little harder to hear or, at worst, makes you unknowingly agree to something you didn’t mean.
But the long-term health effects of neglected hearing loss is beginning to get serious attention from researchers.
What Does Hearing Loss Have to do With Your Health?
Hearing loss doesn’t, at first glance, seem as if it has very much of a connection to other health concerns. But research carried out by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reveals that neglected hearing loss can lead to a 50% increase in hospital visits over time. The chance of severe health issues goes up the longer hearing loss remains untreated.
That’s a curious finding: how is your general state of health related to your ability to hear? The answer is complicated.
Hearing Health And Mental Health
Untreated hearing loss has been associated with numerous other health problems, like:
- An increase in anxiety and depression. Simply put, neglected hearing loss can increase depression and anxiety, which in turn can have a powerfully negative impact on your physical body, not to mention your mental health.
- Memory can begin failing. As a matter of fact, your odds of developing dementia is twice as high with neglected hearing loss.
- Loss of balance. Hearing loss can make it harder to keep your balance and keep your situational focus.
Hearing Aids Really Help
It’s not all doom and gloom, however. Far from it. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School research suggests that up to 75% of the cognitive decline connected to hearing loss can be stopped in its tracks by one simple solution: wearing a hearing aid.
The health risks connected to hearing loss can be significantly mitigated by using hearing aids. The following improvements were revealed in people who used hearing aids for as little as two weeks:
- Improvements in brain function.
- Severe brain injury reductions.
- Improvements in balance and awareness.
Over a period of about twenty years, Johns Hopkins accumulated and examined data from more than 77,000 individuals. And a critical part of preserving your health lies in protecting your hearing which is a surprising conclusion. Taking care of your hearing health also benefits your financial well-being, because being sick can be expensive.
Preserving Your Hearing And Your Health
Hearing loss is not exclusive to the aging process but it is a part of it. Hearing loss can develop at any age as a result of occupational hazards, accidents, or diseases.
However or whenever you lose your hearing, it’s very important to have it checked. Otherwise, your health could be negatively impacted.