You can wind up in the hospital if you don’t properly treat your hearing loss symptoms. You might think that this is a bit of an exaggeration. We’re used to thinking of hearing loss as little more than a hassle – something that makes the news a bit tougher to hear or, at worst, makes you unwittingly agree to something you didn’t mean.
But new research is ringing alarm bells about the long-term health effects of neglected hearing loss.
What Does Hearing Loss Have to do With Your Health?
At first glance, hearing loss doesn’t appear to have much to do with other health indicators. But research conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health indicates that neglected hearing loss can lead to a 50% increase in hospital visits over time. The chance of serious health issues rises the longer hearing loss goes untreated.
That’s a puzzling finding: how is your general state of health related to your ability to hear? That question can have a complicated answer.
The Connection Between Mental Health And Hearing
Here are a few of the health problems connected to hearing loss:
- Loss of balance. Hearing loss can make it harder to keep your balance and keep your situational focus.
- An increase in depression and anxiety. Basically, the likelihood of depression and anxiety rises with hearing loss and that will bring about health problems both physical and mental.
- You begin to lose your memory. In fact, your odds of getting dementia double with untreated hearing loss.
Hearing Aids: A Real Answer
There’s some good news though. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School research reveals that up to 75% of hearing loss associated mental decline can be halted by one basic solution: wearing a hearing aid.
The health risks associated with hearing loss can be seriously mitigated by using hearing aids. According to the research, individuals who wore hearing aids for only two weeks saw:
- Brain function improvements.
- Awareness and balance improvements.
- Reductions in severe brain injuries.
The team from Johns Hopkins studied data from 77,000 patients collected over about twenty years. And a critical part of maintaining your health lies in protecting your hearing which is a surprising outcome. Being sick can be costly, so taking care of your hearing also protects your financial well being.
Preserving Your Hearing And Your Health
Hearing loss is a perfectly typical part of the aging process, although it’s not exclusive to getting older. Hearing loss can develop at any age as a result of accidents, occupational hazards, or diseases.
However, it’s important to address any hearing loss you might be experiencing. Otherwise, your health could be negatively impacted.