Inability to hear is not the only effect of hearing loss, it can also have a profound impact on your life. The loss of your hearing can easily get in the way of day-to-day activities and can strain relationships.
A study conducted by AARP found that untreated hearing loss had a more significant effect on quality of life than:
- Cancer
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Stroke
The loss of hearing, when left untreated, can really get in the way of your lifestyle, yet there are many who don’t seek help. Many people with hearing loss shun getting help because they believe that there is a stigma associated with hearing loss, according to researchers. If others find out they have hearing loss, people are afraid they will be treated differently. This perception can change how they view themselves whether they are young or old.
Your Not The Only One
Today, people live longer, so there are more individuals out there with hearing loss, too, even though it doesn’t just impact seniors. The World Health Organization reports that over 1.1 billion people are at risk of hearing loss and the perceptions that come along with it, many of them young adults. Hearing loss is, as a matter of fact, one of a young adult’s leading health threats. The resistance to getting help persists even while the number of people with hearing loss increases. How is one’s overall health impacted?
How Is Hearing Loss Viewed?
The story is pretty well demonstrated by the very definition of stigma, which is a brand that labels a person as inferior. The anxiety for many people who suffer from hearing loss is that they will seem less able, older, and maybe less healthy.
Historically, there is some basis for this concern. A 2010 study revealed when people suffer from hearing loss they were not as well accepted. But the data from this study is nearly a decade old. As hearing loss is becoming more widespread, this perception is improving. Cutting edge, stylish, and fun technology is now available that even has celebrities visibly wearing hearing aids. Other health problems relating to aging, like cognitive decline and dementia could be delayed or even prevented by getting treatment, researchers say. This is also helping to improve the perception. Some people still don’t get help in spite of this research.
What Difference Does it Make?
Don’t allow your anxiety about negative perception stop you from seeking treatment or you might suffer permanent health consequences. More people get colonoscopies than hearing tests according to an AARP survey. Not having a hearing test because you refuse to acknowledge your hearing loss will impact your health as you get older.
Consequences of Undiagnosed or Untreated Hearing Loss
Not taking care of your hearing loss can have the following health consequences;
Fatigue
Everything in life is more laborious when you are working hard to hear. Just trying to hear conversations and common sounds is a difficult task. It becomes necessary to put more effort into staying safe, as well, because you can’t hear that car or truck coming or someone walking behind you. You can become chronically fatigued just by attempting to hear day-to-day sounds.
Common Headaches and Migraines
Headaches and even migraines can be triggered by anxiety and tension. You might not realize there is a connection, but studies have revealed a link between migraines and some kinds of hearing loss. Even if you don’t normally get migraines, your brain has to compensate for what you can’t hear, and that constant struggle can make your head hurt.
Mental Health
As a consequence of your untreated loss of hearing, you may be facing mental health problems such as depression and social anxiety. Hearing loss could increase social isolation and has even been connected to dementia. You will have less energy and will be moodier if you have these other challenges.
The Negative Perception of Hearing Loss Can be Surmounted
Taking the first step and seek out help if you want to conquer these negative perceptions. If you are losing your hearing, it’s probably a treatable condition. Your only causing your own hardship by not seeking treatment.
There may not even be any reason to stress out because not all loss of hearing is permanent. You won’t know what the issue is unless you make an appointment to get a hearing exam. It could be as simple as earwax buildup.
Make sure you deal with it if you find out that you do have hearing loss. There are many style options nowadays. If you don’t want other people to know about your condition, then get a device that is less noticeable.
Above all, prove them wrong. You can wear your hearing aids with confidence because when you can hear, you will be just as active and healthy as anyone else. Your mindset will change people’s perception not just of you, but of everyone else who suffers from hearing loss. Negative perceptions are social poisons so stay strong and increase awareness to change them.
Hearing loss is a medical condition, not a problem. Get your hearing tested today.
