There are lots of possible causes of fatigue, everything from the inability to sleep at night to respiratory issues like sleep apnea. But many individuals are surprised to learn that chronic fatigue and exhaustion can also be a result of something relatively common: hearing loss.
That’s at least partly because of the fact that hearing loss normally develops gradually over time. You might not immediately detect the symptoms and, as a result, you may feel as if you are constantly tired for no reason. This experience can be quite frustrating. This exhaustion can often turn into irritability which could cause you to socially seclude yourself. Luckily, your energy levels will normally improve once you get your hearing loss treated.
Hearing loss progresses slowly (and your brain compensates)
Hearing loss is typically a gradually advancing condition that gets worse over time. In its early stages, you likely won’t even detect that you’re developing hearing loss. Even common symptoms, like turning the volume up on your TV and smartphone, can be easy to miss if you aren’t watching for them.
One of the more difficult to miss symptoms of hearing loss is often fatigue. No matter how much rest you get, you could still feel exhausted. This symptom, regrettably, isn’t typically associated with hearing loss.
Because the cause happens in your brain, the symptoms aren’t generally considered an ear problem. Your brain has to work overtime to process sound because of the loss of your ability to hear, which can leave you fatigued. In the same way as sustained periods of intense concentration can leave you worn out, the extra brain power needed to hear what individuals are saying can be exhausting. Left neglected, this fatigue can grow worse over time, impacting your quality of life and your ability to execute daily routine activities.
Stigma plays a role
So when individuals begin to feel tired, why wouldn’t they simply visit a hearing specialist? There are many explanations: often people are busy or thinking about other things. But the notion of stigma is another cause which can be even more damaging. There’s an impression that hearing loss is terrible or ruins your life or that there’s nothing you can do about it. Individuals will often avoid seeking treatment because of these mistaken ideas.
However, as more individuals are open about their hearing loss experience, the stigma has begun to disappear. It’s becoming a more prevalent understanding that hearing loss can happen to individuals of all ages and today’s hearing aids are discreet enough that the few people who can’t let go of this stigma won’t even notice them.
Unfortunately, this perception of social stigma can cause individuals in the early stages of hearing loss to avoid getting the treatment they need leading to more severe permanent hearing loss.
Treatment options for hearing loss-related fatigue
The earliest phases of hearing loss might not have any evident symptoms. That’s why hearing specialists prefer to take a preventative approach rather than the far more challenging and less effective reactive approach. Hearing specialists recommend regular screenings in order to create a baseline of your healthy hearing, that way they will be able to identify changes to your hearing in later screenings. Early treatment will be a lot more effective after we have identified that baseline.
You can minimize hearing loss related exhaustion by taking a few proactive steps. Here are a few of the most common and simplest steps:
- Give yourself a rest in between conversations: In between conversation, take a quiet rest somewhere. Your brain is working extra hard to take part in conversation and brief rests will make that more sustainable.
- Try to locate more quiet, secluded areas for conversations: Sorting out voices from background noise can be challenging when you have hearing loss (often whether you’re wearing hearing aids or not). It will be easier, and less fatiguing, to understand conversations if you move them to a quieter spot.
- Be sure you wear your hearing aids as often as you can: Hearing aids are manufactured to help you focus on the sounds of human speech, meaning conversation will be substantially easier to understand when you are hearing them. This means you won’t be as tired because your brain won’t need to work so hard.
- See a hearing specialist: It’s important to monitor your hearing health. When hearing loss is in its early phases, your brain doesn’t need to work as hard as it does when the condition worsens, and a hearing specialist can diagnose hearing loss when it first begins to develop.
So if you’re experiencing an unusual amount of exhaustion and tiredness, with no evident cause, it might be time to plan a visit to your hearing specialist. Treating hearing loss can help you lessen your exhaustion and boost your energy. Don’t let stigma cause your hearing loss to continue to be neglected.