Have you ever attempted to disregard a toothache? It can be pretty difficult. At some point, you end up having no alternative but to see a dentist. The same thing happens when your eyesight starts to lose focus. When you have difficulties reading street signs, you’ll most likely schedule a consultation with an ophthalmologist. The trouble is, you might not show nearly as much urgency when your hearing starts to go.
This would most likely be a mistake. Untreated hearing loss can be the reason for considerable health concerns (particularly mental problems). Regrettably, it’s pretty hard to address your diminishing hearing if you don’t know about it. And that’s problem number two.
Signs You Might Have Hearing Loss
We typically don’t appreciate our hearing. A high volume music festival? No big deal.. Blasting ear pods? You prefer to listen to your podcasts this way. But each of those decisions, especially over time, will have a substantial impact on your overall hearing.
Sadly, those impacts could be difficult to notice. The indications of hearing loss can be nearly invisible because they creep up so slowly over time. So you should take some time to learn some primary red flags (and to be certain you don’t ignore them):
- When you listen to casual speech, you have a particularly difficult time making out consonants
- You frequently need to ask individuals to repeat themselves
- Your short term memory tends to suddenly fail now and then
- Distorted or muffled sounding voices from people around you (co-workers, family, friends)
- You can’t keep a set of earbuds because you keep blowing the speakers
- You always have to crank up the volume on your devices
- You feel an inexplicable sense of fatigue or have excessive difficulty falling asleep at night
- It’s challenging to understand conversations in loud or crowded environments
It’s pretty well known what these red flags and signs mean. If your hearing loss comes on especially slowly, your brain will instantly begin to compensate for any hearing loss that occurs, making you somewhat oblivious, at first, to your symptoms. That’s why you should make an appointment with your hearing care specialist because these warning signs should be taken seriously.
What Happens if You Ignore Your Hearing Loss?
Indeed, some people are very stubborn. Or they just don’t like the idea of wearing a hearing aid. They assume that wearing hearing aids causes them to appear old. But in reality, most contemporary hearing aids are practically undetectable (and it doesn’t hurt when you can understand and engage in conversations).
Nevertheless, it’s worth discussing what could happen if you neglect your hearing loss:
- You could cause your hearing to get worse: If you don’t utilize hearing aids or enhanced hearing protection, you’ll keep cranking the volume on your television higher. Or you won’t utilize earplugs when you go to rock concerts. Which means you’ll continue doing damage to your ears and your hearing will almost definitely continue to decline because of it.
- You could have strained relationships: When you have a hard time comprehending what your friends and relatives are saying, something can change in the relationship: you give up talking to them. You quit saying hi, you quit checking in, you distance yourself. Some of those relationships will be hurt, particularly if no one has any clue that the root cause is hearing loss (and not because you’re angry at them).
- Cognitive decline and depression could result: You may begin to notice signs of depression as your relationships fizzle and going out gets more challenging. You may also start to experience some mental decline without the auditory stimulation your brain is used to, your neural physiology starts to experience specific changes. If your hearing loss isn’t treated, it can result in longterm cognitive worries.
Hearing Loss Shouldn’t be Ignored
Down the road, clearly, bigger and more significant issues can be brought about by hearing loss. On the other hand, your quality of life can be significantly improved by recognizing and treating your hearing loss. Your every day life is more full and your relationships improve when you begin to hear better. And your general health will be improved by seeing a hearing specialist or at least downloading a noise monitoring app.
Hearing loss is definitely a health condition you shouldn’t neglect. The sooner you find the correct treatment, the happier you’ll be. Don’t wait until the proverbial toothache becomes too painful to ignore.