You know what it’s like to try to ignore a toothache? They can be quite rough. At some point, you’re unquestionably pleading to go see a dentist. The same thing takes place when your eyesight starts to blur. You’ll most likely call an ophthalmologist when you start to have trouble reading street signs. The concern is, you may not show quite so much urgency when your hearing begins to go.
And that may be an oversight. Untreated hearing loss can be the reason for considerable health issues (especially mental problems). Regrettably, it’s pretty hard to address your diminishing hearing if you don’t know about it. And there you have the second problem.
Signs You May Have Hearing Loss
We typically don’t appreciate our hearing. A loud concert? No big deal.. Blasting ear pods? That’s just how you like your podcasts. But every one of those decisions, particularly in the long run, will have a significant impact on your general hearing.
Unfortunately, those impacts may be hard to detect. The indications of hearing loss can be nearly invisible because they sneak up so slowly over time. So you should take some time to educate yourself on some primary red flags (and to make sure you don’t neglect them):
- Your short term memory seems to suddenly fail sometimes
- You continually blow the speakers in your earpods because you have the volume up too loud
- You feel an unexplained sense of fatigue or have excessive trouble falling asleep at night
- When you listen to everyday speech, you have a particularly tough time making out consonants
- You regularly need to ask people to repeat what they said
- Distorted or muffled sounding speech from individuals around you (family, co-workers, friends)
- When you’re in a crowded noisy setting you have a tough time following conversations
- You always have to crank up the volume on your devices
It’s fairly well known what these red flags and signs indicate. At first, you will be somewhat oblivious to your symptoms, especially if they come on slowly, because your brain will immediately begin to compensate. That’s why you should make an appointment with your hearing care specialist because these warning symptoms should be taken seriously.
If You Ignore Your Hearing Loss, What Will Happen?
Some individuals are, indeed, stubborn. Or the idea of wearing hearing aids is simply too undesirable. They have this fear that wearing a hearing aid is some sort of immediate sign for old age (as if continuously asking people to speak louder is a signifier of never ending youth). But that’s not really the case (the majority of hearing aids can be very discreet, and being able to converse fluently is a benefit, too).
Still, if you ignore hearing loss it could lead to several problems:
- Your hearing could worsen: Without a hearing aid or enhanced hearing protection, You’ll keep turning up your devices. Or you won’t utilize earplugs when you attend rock concerts. And your hearing will continue declining as you continue doing damage to your ears.
- You could have tense relationships: There’s something that occurs when you have a difficult time comprehending your friends and family: you avoid speaking with them. You don’t call to say hi, you don’t keep up with what’s happening with them, you withdraw. Some of those relationships will be ruined, particularly if no one has any clue that the root cause is loss of hearing (and not because you’re angry at them).
- You could go through cognitive decline and depression: As your relationships falter and going out gets more challenging, you may begin to experience signs of depression. You might also start to go through some mental decline without the auditory stimulation your brain is used to, your neural physiology begins to experience certain changes. If your hearing loss isn’t dealt with, it can result in longterm cognitive concerns.
Hearing Loss Shouldn’t be Neglected
Clearly, ignoring your hearing loss can cause bigger and more significant problems in the future. On the other hand, your quality of life can be substantially improved by acknowledging and dealing with your hearing loss. When you hear better, your relationships get better and your daily life seems fuller. And improving your awareness, either by consulting a hearing specialist or downloading a noise-monitoring app, can enhance your overall hearing health.
You definitely shouldn’t neglect the health problem of hearing loss. A happier life begins when you find the proper treatment. Don’t wait until the proverbial toothache gets too painful to ignore.