If one of your New Year’s Resolutions is to be more proactive about your health or the health of a loved one, make sure you don’t overlook the importance of hearing on long-term health and happiness.
According to Healthy Hearing.com, untreated hearing loss can have a detrimental impact on a person’s physical and emotional health and on their quality of life. Here are five reasons to make hearing health a priority in 2018.
Reason #1: Untreated hearing loss leads to brain atrophy
Many people don’t realize that hearing is actually a brain function. While your ears collect the sound, it’s your brain that translates those random noises into the recognizable sound that allows us to understand and participate in conversations, enjoy music or alerts us to danger.
A study done by the University of Colorado’s Department of Speech and Hearing found that when you have hearing loss, your brain reassigns the part devoted to hearing to other senses, such as vision and touch. Researchers suggest that the portion of the brain devoted to hearing can become reorganized even with early-stage hearing loss, and may play a role in cognitive decline.
Reason #2: Untreated hearing loss increases risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease
Brain atrophy in older adults may also be the reason why those with untreated hearing loss are more at risk for developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. New studies by the Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention and Care and the University of Wisconsin-Madison indicate that treating your hearing loss may be one way to lower your risk of developing these conditions.
Reason #3: Untreated hearing loss increases risk of falling
Here’s another unhealthy side effect of hearing loss — it affects the vestibular system and leads to an increased risk of falling. Falls are the leading cause of accidental death over the age of 65. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2015 costs for falls to Medicare alone totaled more than $31 billion.
A study by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the National Institute of Aging determined that even a mild case of hearing loss tripled the risk of an accidental fall. That risk increases by 140 percent for every ten decibels of hearing loss. In study testing, those with hearing aids were able to maintain their balance twice as long as when their hearing aids were turned off.
Reason #4: Untreated hearing loss affects emotional health
Your emotional health is also at risk when you neglect your hearing health. A study by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders discovered that eleven percent of those with untreated hearing loss had depression compared to only five percent of the general population.
Another study by the National Council on Aging of 2,300 hearing impaired adults over the age of 50 found those with untreated hearing loss were more likely to report depression, anxiety and paranoia, and less likely to participate in organized social activities compared to those who wear hearing aids.
Reason #5: Untreated hearing loss creates relationship challenges
If concern for your physical and emotional health isn’t concern enough, consider the damage untreated hearing loss can do to relationships with family, friends and coworkers.
According to a Cochlear America survey, people with hearing loss say relationships with their romantic partners suffer the most, followed by those with family, friends and coworkers. A 2009 British study found the breakdown in communication actually resulted in loss of relationships, including marriages.
Negative emotions felt as a result of hearing loss include frustration, resentment, loneliness, social isolation, communication difficulties, a reduction in shared activities, loss of companionship and a decrease in communication.
Make Hearing Health a Priority!
Avoid the negative impact untreated hearing could have on your or a loved one’s long-term health and quality of life by being proactive about hearing health. Contact us today to set up a hearing evaluation and start the New Year off right!
Source: Healthy Hearing