What Hearing Loss Means for Your Overall Health
For many of us, maintaining our health is a constant priority. Regular checkups, activity, and a healthy diet all contribute to our overall being, but how does hearing impact our health? Hearing loss affects many of us and our loved ones, so it’s important to know how it can affect you.
Communication Problems
Communicating with friends, family, colleagues, and even strangers is an integral part of our daily lives. We have to communicate to understand important details regarding our life as well as just to feel connected and understood. When it becomes harder to hear, you can miss out on important conversations. It can make understanding your relationships and surroundings more difficult. You may also miss out on important safety plans and alerts in emergency situations.
Mental Health Concerns
For a variety of reasons, hearing loss can cause anxiety and depression. Beginning with the decline in your communication, the feelings of isolation and being misunderstood can make you feel depressed. You may notice yourself starting to withdraw. You might also feel health anxiety over your hearing loss, especially when you’re unsure of the underlying cause.
There is a stigma surrounding hearing loss and hearing aids. Some people are concerned it makes them seem older than they are, but hearing loss occurs to people of all ages for different reasons. Treating your hearing loss by any means, including hearing aids, only means that you’re taking charge of your health. You’re preventing risks for a number of different health issues.
Dementia and Memory Problems
Studies have shown that cognitive decline may occur earlier in people with untreated hearing loss than in people without it. It has also been shown that people with untreated hearing loss are at an increased risk of developing dementia in their lifetime. Before developing cognitive issues, you might notice problems with your memory. As your brain becomes more stressed trying to hear and understand things, it does not have as much capacity to commit the details to your memory.
Dealing with hearing loss can put a lot of stress on you and your loved ones, but if you act soon after recognizing symptoms, you can keep yourself healthier for longer. Even if you’ve experienced hearing loss for years, you can still treat your hearing loss and improve your overall health.
Make sure you’re taking care of your hearing health. Contact our office to schedule a hearing test today.
