You can wind up in the hospital if you don’t correctly manage your hearing loss symptoms. I know that seems like an exaggeration. Most individuals think of hearing loss as an inconvenience that makes it tough to hear the TV or what somebody is saying at worst
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 like it has very much of a relationship with other health concerns. But research conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reveals that untreated hearing loss can lead to a 50% increase in hospital visits over time. The longer the hearing loss goes untreated, the more severe the health havoc get.
That’s a puzzling finding: how is your overall state of health related to your ability to hear? The answer is challenging.
The Connection Between Mental Health And Hearing
Untreated hearing loss has been linked to a number of other health problems, including:
- You start to lose your memory. In fact, your odds of getting dementia double with untreated hearing loss.
- Balance balance issues. Hearing loss can make it harder to keep your balance and keep your situational focus.
- Higher instance of depression and anxiety. Basically, the likelihood of depression and anxiety increases with hearing loss and that will lead to health problems both physical and mental.
Hearing Aids: An effective Solution
There’s some good news though. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School research reveals that up to 75% of hearing loss related cognitive decline can be halted by one easy solution: wearing a hearing aid.
The health hazards linked to hearing loss can be seriously mitigated by using hearing aids. The following improvements were noted in individuals who used hearing aids for as little as two weeks:
- Improvements in brain function.
- Severe brain injury reductions.
- Awareness and balance improvements.
The researchers from Johns Hopkins studied data from 77,000 patients collected over about twenty years. And what they found is surprisingly simple: safeguarding your hearing is crucial to maintaining your health. Taking care of your hearing health also helps your financial well-being, because being sick costs money.
Preserving Your Hearing And Your Health
Hearing loss is a perfectly common part of the aging process, though it’s not exclusive to aging. Hearing loss can happen at any age because of accidents, occupational hazards, or diseases.
However or whenever you lose your hearing, it’s extremely important to address it. Your health could depend on it.
