As common as it can be, affecting roughly 13% of all people, a lot of people do not take the symptoms of hearing loss as seriously as they should. Not only could having it diagnosed and treated improve your quality of life greatly, but failing to get the help you need for it can also have a wide range of negative repercussions on your life.
Communication and connection can suffer
Humans are social creatures. Even the introverts amongst us and those who most like their quiet and private time. As such, being able to communicate and connect with people can be vital for our well-being. Undiagnosed and untreated hearing loss can make us much less able to enjoy that side of life. It can also result in us feeling disconnected from the world around us, as we might not be able to hear it as well. This can also increase the risk of accidents and injuries, as you might not be able to hear your environment as well, such as the sounds of traffic or someone calling out to you.
It can have a serious impact on mental health
Living with hearing loss can be challenging, but it can be even more so if it isn’t getting the treatment that it needs. Undiagnosed hearing loss can contribute to much higher rates of stress, depression, and general fatigue. Aside from treating any existing hearing loss, an audiologist can also help their patients develop habits for hearing loss prevention, which can stop the issue from being exacerbated. Someone with undiagnosed hearing loss may be likely to continue exposing themselves to risk factors that could make it more severe.
Social isolation is a real threat
The barriers to communication, as mentioned above, that can arise as a person’s ability to pick up on and understand speech can have significant long-term effects on the health of their social life. Socializing with people, and being in places with background noise, can become a lot more tiresome and stressful, requiring more effort to get through. When this happens, a lot of people can, even if they’re not aware of it, start receding from social life. This social isolation can greatly affect a person’s mental health, and the effects of isolation are even stronger in older people, who are those who are most likely to develop hearing loss.
A potential risk to your cognitive threat
While research into the connection is still ongoing, there is already substantial evidence showing that there is a link between hearing loss, especially untreated hearing loss, and cognitive decline, including memory loss and dementia. Some posit that untreated hearing loss leads to less activity in parts of the brain, such as those that understand and interpret speech, which can lead to a greater spread of decline as time goes on.
Hearing loss can be treated very effectively with the help of an audiologist. It’s perfectly possible to preserve your quality of life with hearing aids and other treatments. However, without having it diagnosed or treated, the long-term risks to your health are much greater.