You can end up in the hospital if you don’t properly treat your hearing loss symptoms. You may think that this is a bit of an exaggeration. We’re used to thinking of hearing loss as not much more than a hassle – something that makes the news a little tougher to hear or, at worst, makes you unknowingly agree to something you didn’t mean.
But the long-term health impacts of untreated hearing loss is beginning to get significant attention from researchers.
How is Your Health Linked to Hearing Loss?
At first sight, hearing loss doesn’t appear to have that much to do with other health concerns. But research conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests that neglected hearing loss can result in a 50% increase in hospital visits over time. The risk of severe health problems rises the longer hearing loss goes untreated.
That seems like a curious discovery: what does hearing have to do with your general health? That question can have a complicated answer.
The Connection Between Mental Health And Hearing
Here are a few of the health issues connected to hearing loss:
- Balance problems. Hearing loss can make it harder to keep your balance and maintain situational focus.
- Higher instance of depression and anxiety. Simply stated, untreated hearing loss can increase anxiety and depression, which will then have a strong negative impact on your physical body, not to mention your mental health.
- Memory can begin failing. In fact, your odds of developing dementia double with neglected hearing loss.
Hearing Aids Really Help
It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Far from it. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School research suggests that up to 75% of hearing loss related cognitive decline can be halted by one easy solution: wearing a hearing aid.
The health hazards connected to hearing loss can be seriously mitigated by wearing hearing aids. The following improvements were revealed in individuals who used hearing aids for as little as two weeks:
- Improvements in balance and awareness.
- Brain function improvements.
- Reductions in severe brain injuries.
The team from Johns Hopkins examined data from 77,000 patients collected over roughly twenty years. And the conclusion is surprisingly simple: safeguarding your hearing is essential to maintaining your health. Being sick can be costly, so caring for your hearing also safeguards your financial well being.
Preserving Your Hearing And Your Health
Hearing loss is a perfectly typical part of getting older, although it’s not exclusive to getting older. Because of accidents, occupational hazards, and disease, hearing loss can develop at any age.
However, it’s important to address any hearing loss you might be experiencing. Your health could depend on it.