If you’re not managing your symptoms properly, hearing loss can hospitalize you. You might think that this is somewhat of an exaggeration. Most people think of hearing loss as an inconvenience that makes it hard to hear the TV or what somebody is saying at worst.
But current research is sounding an alarm about the long-term health effects of untreated hearing loss.
What Does Hearing Loss Have to do With Your Health?
Hearing loss doesn’t, at first sight, 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 suggests that over time, visits to the hospital can increase by as much as 50% for someone with untreated hearing loss. The possibility of severe health issues goes up the longer hearing loss goes untreated.
That’s a curious finding: what does hearing have to do with your overall health? The answer is challenging.
The Connection Between Mental Health And Hearing
Here are a number of the health issues linked to hearing loss:
- Higher instance of anxiety and depression. Basically, the chance of anxiety and depression rises with hearing loss and that will lead to health problems both physical and mental.
- Loss of balance. Hearing loss can make it more difficult to keep your balance and keep your situational focus.
- Memory can begin failing. As a matter of fact, your odds of developing dementia is twice as high with neglected hearing loss.
Hearing Aids: A Real Solution
There’s some good news though. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School research suggests that up to 75% of the cognitive decline associated with hearing loss can be halted by one simple solution: wearing a hearing aid.
Wearing a hearing aid has a powerful impact on eliminating the dangers associated with neglected hearing loss. The following improvements were noted in individuals who wore hearing aids for as little as two weeks:
- Severe brain injury reductions.
- Improvements in brain function.
- Improvements in awareness and balance.
Over a period of around twenty years, Johns Hopkins accumulated and examined data from more than 77,000 individuals. And a critical part of maintaining your health lies in safeguarding your hearing which is a surprising outcome. Being sick usually costs money, so caring for your hearing also safeguards your financial well being.
Caring For Your Health And Your Hearing
Hearing loss is a perfectly normal part of getting older, though it’s not exclusive to getting older. Due to accidents, occupational hazards, and disease, hearing loss can happen regardless of how old you are.
However or whenever you lose your hearing, it’s extremely important to deal with it. Otherwise, your health could be negatively impacted.