You know what it’s like to attempt to ignore a toothache? It can be pretty difficult. Before long, you end up having no alternative but to see a dentist. The same thing happens when your eyesight begins to blur. When you have difficulties reading street signs, you’ll most likely schedule an appointment with an ophthalmologist. But the problem is, when your hearing begins to go you may not have such urgency.
This would probably be a mistake. There are appreciable health problems (especially mental health problems) that can happen as a result of untreated hearing loss. Regrettably, it’s pretty difficult to address your diminishing hearing if you aren’t aware of it. And that’s problem number two.
You May Have Hearing Loss if You Notice These Symptoms
We commonly don’t appreciate our hearing. A loud performance? No biggie. Blasting ear pods? That’s just how you enjoy your podcasts. But all of those decisions, particularly over time, will have a considerable affect on your overall hearing.
It can, regrettably, be difficult to notice these impacts. The signs of hearing loss can be virtually invisible because they sneak up so slowly over time. That’s why it’s a good idea to be familiar with some basic red flags (and to deal with them sooner than later):
- When you listen to casual speech, you have a particularly difficult time making out consonants
- You keep cranking up the volume on your television, car stereo, or your cellphone
- Distorted or muffled sounding voices from individuals near you (family, co-workers, friends)
- You consistently blow the speakers in your earpods because you have the volume up too high
- When you’re in a crowded noisy situation you have a tough time keeping up with conversations
- You encounter sudden issues with short term memory
- You have a hard time falling asleep at night and feel fatigued for no apparent reason
- You frequently have to ask individuals to repeat themselves
It’s pretty well known what these red flags and symptoms mean. At first, you will be somewhat ignorant of your symptoms, especially if they come on slowly, because your brain will immediately start to compensate. That’s why any of these warning signs should be taken seriously, which means you need to make an appointment to see your hearing specialist.
What Happens if You Neglect Your Hearing Loss?
Some people are, certainly, stubborn. Or they simply don’t like the idea of wearing a hearing aid. They maintain this fear that wearing a hearing aid is some kind of direct sign for old age (as though constantly asking people to speak louder is a sign of everlasting youth). But in reality, most contemporary hearing aids are practically unseen (and it’s helpful when you can understand and take part in conversations).
Nevertheless, it’s worth discussing what could take place if you ignore your hearing loss:
- Your hearing might get worse: Without a hearing aid or enhanced hearing protection, You’ll continue to turn up your devices. Or you’ll keep intending to rock shows without any earplugs. Which means you’ll keep doing harm to your ears and your hearing will almost certainly continue to decline because of it.
- You may have strained relationships: When you have a difficult time understanding what your friends and relatives are saying, something can change in the relationship: you stop speaking with them. You don’t call to say hi, you don’t keep up with what’s happening with them, you withdraw. And that can ruin some of those relationships, especially if no one has any idea that the root cause is hearing loss (and not because you’re mad at them).
- Depression and cognitive decline could result: As your relationships falter and going out becomes more challenging, you might begin to detect symptoms of depression. You may also begin to experience some mental decline if your brain doesn’t receive the auditory stimulation that it’s used to, your neural physiology begins to experience specific changes. This can result in long term cognitive challenges if your hearing loss isn’t managed.
Don’t Ignore Your Hearing Loss
In the future, clearly, bigger and more substantial problems can be caused by hearing loss. Conversely, your quality of life can be substantially improved by acknowledging and dealing with your hearing loss. Your daily life is more full and your relationships get better when you start to hear better. And your overall health will be improved by seeing a hearing specialist or at least downloading a noise monitoring app.
You absolutely shouldn’t ignore the health problem of hearing loss. The sooner you find the correct treatment, the happier you’ll be. Don’t wait until the proverbial toothache gets too painful to ignore.