If you’re not managing your symptoms properly, hearing loss can hospitalize you. 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 more difficult to hear or, at worst, makes you unknowingly agree to something you didn’t mean.
But current research is ringing alarm bells about the long-term health effects of neglected hearing loss.
How is Your Health Related to Hearing Loss?
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 reveals that over time, hospital visits can increase by as much as 50% for someone with neglected hearing loss. The danger of serious health problems rises the longer hearing loss remains untreated.
That’s a curious finding: how is your total state of health linked to your ability to hear? The answer is challenging.
Hearing Health And Mental Health
Here are a number of the health problems associated with hearing loss:
- Balance balance issues. Hearing loss can make it more difficult to keep your balance and maintain situational focus.
- An increase in anxiety and depression. Simply put, untreated hearing loss can increase depression and anxiety, which will then have a powerfully negative effect on your physical body, to say nothing of your mental health.
- Memory can start to fail. In fact, your odds of getting dementia is twice as high with neglected hearing loss.
Hearing Aids: A Real Answer
There’s some good news though. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School research indicates that up to 75% of the cognitive decline connected to hearing loss can be stopped in its tracks by one basic solution: wearing a hearing aid.
Wearing a hearing aid has a profound impact on mitigating the dangers associated with untreated hearing loss. According to the research, individuals who wore hearing aids for just two weeks saw:
- Reductions in traumatic brain injuries.
- Brain function improvements.
- Improvements in awareness and balance.
Over a period of around two decades, Johns Hopkins accumulated and examined data from more than 77,000 individuals. And what they found is surprisingly simple: protecting your hearing is essential to maintaining your health. Being sick can be costly, so caring for your hearing also safeguards your financial well being.
Preserving Your Hearing And Your Health
Hearing loss is not exclusive to getting older but it is a part of it. Due to accidents, occupational hazards, and disease, hearing loss can develop at any age.
However, it’s important to acknowledge any hearing loss you might be noticing. Otherwise, your health could be negatively impacted.