You can end up in the hospital if you don’t correctly treat your hearing loss symptoms. You might think that this is somewhat of an exaggeration. We usually consider hearing loss as little more than an inconvenience – something that makes the news a bit harder to hear or, at worst, makes you unknowingly agree to something you didn’t mean.
But new research is causing alarm over the long-term health impacts of neglected hearing loss.
What Does Hearing Loss Have to do With Your Health?
Hearing loss doesn’t, at first glance, seem as if it has much of a link to other health concerns. But research carried out by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reveals that neglected hearing loss can result in a 50% increase in hospital visits over time. The longer the hearing loss goes unmanaged, the more severe the health troubles get.
That seems like a strange discovery: what does hearing have to do with your total health? That question can have a complicated answer.
The Connection Between Mental Health And Hearing
Untreated hearing loss has been associated with numerous other health problems, including:
- An increase in depression and anxiety. Simply stated, untreated hearing loss can increase anxiety and depression, which in turn can have a powerfully negative impact on your physical body, not to mention your mental health.
- Loss of balance. Hearing loss can make it harder to keep your balance and keep your situational focus.
- Memory can start to fail. As a matter of fact, your odds of developing dementia is twice as high 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 associated cognitive decline can be halted by one easy solution: using a hearing aid.
Wearing a hearing aid has a powerful impact on putting an end to the dangers linked to untreated hearing loss. According to the research, patients who used hearing aids for just two weeks saw:
- Brain function improvements.
- Improvements in awareness and balance.
- Reductions in traumatic brain injuries.
Over a period of around twenty years, Johns Hopkins accumulated and examined data from over 77,000 people. And a crucial part of preserving your health lies in safeguarding your hearing which is a surprising outcome. Taking care of your hearing health also benefits your finances, because being sick costs money.
Caring For Your Health And Your Hearing
Hearing loss is a perfectly normal part of the aging process, although it’s not exclusive to getting older. Due to accidents, disease, and occupational hazards, hearing loss can happen regardless of how old you are.
However, it’s important to address any hearing loss you may be noticing. Otherwise, your health could be negatively impacted.