You can end up in the hospital if you don’t correctly treat 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 someone is saying at worst.
But the long-term health effects of neglected hearing loss is beginning to get significant attention from researchers.
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 link to other health concerns. But research conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests that untreated hearing loss can lead to a 50% increase in visits to the hospital over time. The possibility of serious health issues rises the longer hearing loss goes untreated.
That seems like a strange discovery: how is your total state of health linked to your ability to hear? The answer is complicated.
Hearing Health And Mental Health
Untreated hearing loss has been connected with several other health problems, like:
- Memory can begin failing. In fact, your odds of getting dementia is twice as high with untreated hearing loss.
- Higher instance of depression and anxiety. Simply put, neglected hearing loss can increase depression and anxiety, which in turn can have a strong negative impact on your physical body, to say nothing of your mental health.
- Balance balance issues. Hearing loss can make it harder to keep your balance and maintain situational focus.
Hearing Aids: A Real Answer
There’s some good news though. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School research suggests that up to 75% of the mental decline connected to hearing loss can be halted by one basic solution: wearing a hearing aid.
The health hazards connected to hearing loss can be seriously mitigated by using hearing aids. According to the study, patients who wore hearing aids for just two weeks saw:
- Traumatic brain injury reductions.
- Improvements in brain function.
- Balance and awareness improvements.
Over a period of about twenty years, Johns Hopkins accumulated and analyzed data from more than 77,000 people. And what they found is surprisingly simple: protecting your hearing is essential to maintaining your health. Being sick can be costly, so taking care of your hearing also safeguards your financial well being.
Preserving Your Hearing And Your Health
Hearing loss is a perfectly typical part of the aging process, though it’s not exclusive to aging. Because of accidents, disease, and occupational hazards, hearing loss can happen at any age.
However, it’s essential to address any hearing loss you might be noticing. Otherwise, your health could be negatively impacted.