Depending on the severity of hearing loss, it can affect a person’s life mildly to greatly. Most hearing aid users usually take a decade before looking for treatment for their hearing loss. One of the most common reasons is “my hearing’s not that bad.” This is true, but over the years hearing loss worsens, and, in that time, it would’ve already affected your health without you knowing. These are the most common ways untreated hearing loss damages your health:

Dementia

The auditory function and cognition have long been recognized by researchers to have a strong link. When listening to a person talk, your brain processes the sound to derive input from it and gain comprehension. However, if you’re hard of hearing, your brain is forced to work harder than it should for the same result. Hearing less clearly gives your brain poor quality audio material to retrieve a message from. This negatively affects your other mental abilities, particularly memory and comprehension. These problems gradually heighten and complicate.

Seniors who have trouble hearing have almost a 50% chance of developing dementia. How bad your hearing problem is would affect high likely you are to develop dementia. For example, those with mild hearing loss are twice as prone to it compared to someone who can hear well. Those whose hearing is worse have increased probability to eventually get dementia.

Mental Fatigue

As your brain is forced to work harder to process sounds and speech, the increased exertion takes away energy for your brain. You become mentally drained and less able to take on other tasks that require mental efforts.

Social Isolation and Depression

People with hearing problems have admitted to their relationships suffering due to their impaired auditory function. It can also affect with your ability to perform in work as well as other areas of your life. These problems, especially when compounded, can take a toll on your mental and emotional health which can be more difficult to address.

These different health problems aren’t just linked to hearing, but are related to each other and may aggravate the advancement of these other health concerns, including those not mentioned on this list.

Can any of these be reversed or treated? The answer is yes. Therapy, medicines and other methods are available today to aid those suffering from any of the above. However, it would be simpler to avoid these problems altogether by having any hearing loss, no matter how mild, checked and treated early on. While there’s no cure for natural loss of hearing, using a hearing aid sooner would help prevent any of the discussed health issues.

To get the right hearing aid or other treatment, get an accurate evaluation from a trusted hearing professional. Look them up on Google, get referrals, ask for certifications and properly licensed specialists. At Beltone DFW, we pride ourselves on our quality work and caring staff. Schedule a consultation to have your ears checked and get answers to other questions with us. We can be reached at (888) 958-8432.