If you’re not managing your symptoms correctly, hearing loss can hospitalize you. I know that seems like an exaggeration. Most people think of hearing loss as an inconvenience that makes it tough to hear the TV or what someone is saying at worst.
But the long-term health impacts of untreated hearing loss is beginning to get significant attention from researchers.
What Does Hearing Loss Have to do With Your Health?
Hearing loss doesn’t, at first sight, seem as if it has much of a relationship with other health concerns. But research conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reveals that over time, hospital visits can increase by as much as 50% for somebody with untreated hearing loss. The risk of severe health issues goes up the longer hearing loss goes untreated.
That’s a curious finding: how is your overall state of health linked to your ability to hear? That question can have a complicated answer.
Hearing Health And Mental Health
Here are a few of the health problems connected to hearing loss:
- Higher instance of depression and anxiety. Simply put, neglected hearing loss can increase depression and anxiety, which will then have a powerfully negative effect on your physical body, not to mention your mental health.
- Memory can start to fail. In fact, your odds of getting dementia double with neglected hearing loss.
- Balance balance issues. Hearing loss can make it more difficult to keep your balance and keep your situational focus.
Hearing Aids: A Real Answer
There’s some good news though. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School research indicates that up to 75% of the cognitive decline connected to hearing loss can be stopped in its tracks by one basic solution: wearing a hearing aid.
The health hazards connected to hearing loss can be significantly mitigated by wearing hearing aids. According to the study, individuals who wore hearing aids for just two weeks saw:
- Traumatic brain injury reductions.
- Brain function improvements.
- Awareness and balance improvements.
The researchers from Johns Hopkins looked at data from 77,000 patients accumulated over around twenty years. And what they found is staggeringly simple: safeguarding your hearing is essential to maintaining your health. Being sick can be costly, so caring for your hearing also protects your financial well being.
Preserving Your Hearing And Your Health
Hearing loss is not exclusive to getting older but it is a part of it. Due to accidents, occupational hazards, and disease, hearing loss can develop regardless of how old you are.
However, it’s essential to acknowledge any hearing loss you might be experiencing. Your health could depend on it.