You can wind up in the hospital if you don’t correctly 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 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 new research is sounding an alarm over the long-term health impacts of untreated hearing loss.
How is Your Health Linked to Hearing Loss?
Hearing loss doesn’t, at first sight, seem as if it has very much of a relationship with other health concerns. But research carried out by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health indicates that neglected hearing loss can lead to a 50% increase in visits to the hospital over time. The chance of severe health problems rises the longer hearing loss goes untreated.
That seems like a curious finding: what does hearing have to do with your overall health? That question can have a complicated answer.
Hearing Health And Mental Health
Here are a few of the health issues associated with hearing loss:
- An increase in anxiety and depression. Basically, the chance of anxiety and depression increases with hearing loss and that will bring about health problems both physical and mental.
- Loss of balance. Hearing loss can make it harder to keep your balance and maintain situational focus.
- You start to lose your memory. As a matter of fact, your odds of developing dementia is twice as high with neglected hearing loss.
Hearing Aids Really Help
There’s some good news though. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School research reveals that up to 75% of the mental decline connected to hearing loss can be halted by one easy solution: using a hearing aid.
Wearing a hearing aid has a powerful impact on eliminating the risks linked to untreated hearing loss. The following improvements were noted in individuals who used hearing aids for as little as two weeks:
- Improvements in balance and awareness.
- Brain function improvements.
- Traumatic brain injury reductions.
Over a period of about twenty years, Johns Hopkins collected and examined data from more than 77,000 people. And a crucial part of preserving your health lies in protecting your hearing which is a staggering outcome. Taking care of your hearing health also benefits your financial well-being, because being sick can be expensive.
Caring For Your Health And Your Hearing
Hearing loss is not exclusive to getting older but it is a part of it. Hearing loss can occur at any age due to accidents, occupational hazards, or diseases.
However or whenever you lose your hearing, it’s extremely important to deal with it. Your health could depend on it.
