Have you ever attempted to ignore a toothache? They can be rather tough. At some point, you’re unquestionably begging to go to the dentist. The same thing takes place when your eyesight begins to blur. You’ll probably call an ophthalmologist when you begin to have trouble reading street signs. But the problem is, when your hearing begins to go you might not show such urgency.
This would most likely be an oversight. Untreated hearing loss can be responsible for significant health problems (specifically mental problems). Naturally, you can only ignore your diminishing hearing if you’re actually aware of it. And there’s the second problem.
You May Have Hearing Loss if You Notice These Symptoms
We typically don’t appreciate our hearing. A high volume music festival? No worry. Blaring ear pods? You like to listen to your podcasts like this. But your overall hearing will be substantially affected by each of these decisions, particularly in the long run.
It can, regrettably, be hard to detect these impacts. Hearing loss can sneak up on you gradually, with symptoms that advance so slowly as to be essentially invisible. That’s why it’s a smart idea to be familiar with some primary red flags (and to deal with them sooner than later):
- Your short term memory tends to suddenly fail now and then
- You have an especially difficult time making out consonants when listening to everyday speech
- It’s difficult to understand conversations in noisy or crowded settings
- You continually blow the speakers in your earpods because you need the volume up too loud
- You have a hard time falling asleep at night and feel tired for no apparent reason
- Voices of those around you (family, co-workers, friends) sounds dull or distorted
- You always need to turn up the volume on your devices
- You frequently have to ask people to repeat what they said
It’s fairly well known what these red flags and symptoms indicate. If your loss of hearing comes on especially slowly, your brain will instantly begin to compensate for any hearing loss that develops, making you somewhat unaware, at first, to your symptoms. That’s the reason why all of these warning symptoms should be taken seriously, which means you should schedule an appointment to see your hearing specialist.
What Happens if You Ignore Your Hearing Loss?
Some people are, indeed, stubborn. Or the idea of wearing hearing aids is simply too undesirable. They believe that wearing hearing aids makes them appear old. But in actuality, most modern hearing aids are practically unseen (and it doesn’t hurt when you can hear and participate in conversations).
Still, if you ignore hearing loss it could result in several issues:
- Your relationships could diminish: When you have a difficult time comprehending what your friends and relatives are saying, something can change in the relationship: you start having fewer conversations with them. You quit saying hi, you quit checking in, you pull away. Some of those relationships will be damaged, particularly if the issue is hearing loss that you have kept secret (and not some unexpressed bitterness).
- You could cause your hearing to get worse: If you don’t use hearing aids or increased hearing protection, you’ll keep cranking the volume on your television up. Or you’ll keep going to rock concerts without any earplugs. And your hearing will keep declining as you continue to do damage to your ears.
- Depression and cognitive decline could result: You may start to discover symptoms of depression as your relationships fizzle and going out gets more challenging. You might also start to go through some mental decline without the auditory activation your brain is used to, your neural physiology starts to experience specific changes. This can lead to long term cognitive problems if your hearing loss isn’t dealt with.
Hearing Loss Shouldn’t be Ignored
Later on, clearly, bigger and more substantial problems can be triggered by hearing loss. But the inverse is true: acknowledging and dealing with your hearing loss can enhance your quality of life substantially. When you can hear, your relationships get better and your every day life seems fuller. And your overall health will be improved by consulting 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 proper treatment, the happier you’ll be. Don’t wait until the proverbial toothache gets too painful to ignore.