Have you ever attempted to disregard a toothache? It can be pretty hard. Before long, you end up having no choice but to see a dentist. And when your eyesight begins to lose focus it’s the same. You’ll most likely call an ophthalmologist when you begin to have problems reading street signs. The concern is, you might not show quite so much urgency when your hearing starts to go.
And that may be an error in judgment. Untreated hearing loss can be the reason for significant health concerns (especially mental problems). Regrettably, it’s pretty hard to address your diminishing hearing if you don’t know about it. And there’s the second problem.
You May Have Hearing Loss if You Notice These Symptoms
We normally don’t appreciate our hearing. A high volume music festival? No big deal.. Blaring ear pods? You like to listen to your podcasts like this. But your overall hearing will be considerably affected by all of these decisions, particularly over time.
It can, unfortunately, be difficult to notice these impacts. Hearing loss can sneak up on you gradually, with symptoms that progress so slowly as to be effectively invisible. So you should take some time to educate yourself on some primary red flags (and to deal with them sooner than later):
- It’s hard to follow conversations in noisy or crowded environments
- You feel an inexplicable sense of exhaustion or have significant trouble falling asleep at night
- When you listen to everyday speech, you have an especially difficult time hearing consonants
- You can’t keep a set of earbuds because you keep blowing the speakers
- Your short term memory seems to suddenly fail now and then
- You find yourself asking individuals around you to repeat themselves quite often
- Distorted or dull sounding speech from people near you (family, co-workers, friends)
- You always have to crank up the volume on your devices
These symptoms, red flags, or warnings are all fairly well known. If your hearing loss comes on particularly slowly, your brain will immediately begin to compensate for any hearing loss that occurs, making you somewhat oblivious, at first, to your symptoms. That’s the reason why you should schedule an appointment with your hearing care specialist because these warning symptoms should be taken seriously.
If You Ignore Your Hearing Loss, What Will Happen?
Indeed, some individuals are very stubborn. Or they simply don’t favor the thought of wearing a hearing aid. They believe that wearing hearing aids causes them to appear old. But in reality, most contemporary hearing aids are virtually unseen (and it’s helpful when you can hear and engage in conversations).
Still, if you ignore hearing loss it could result in numerous problems:
- Your hearing may get worse: Without a hearing aid or increased ear protection, You’ll keep turning up your devices. Or you won’t use earplugs when you go to rock concerts. Which means you’ll keep doing damage to your ears and your hearing will almost certainly keep declining because of it.
- You may have strained relationships: When you have a difficult time comprehending what your family and friends are saying, something can change in the relationship: you stop talking to them. You stop saying hi, you stop checking in, you distance yourself. Some of those relationships will be ruined, particularly if the problem is hearing loss that you have kept secret (and not some unspoken bitterness).
- You could go through cognitive decline and depression: You may start to notice symptoms of depression as your relationships falter and going out becomes harder. You might also start to go through some cognitive decline if your brain doesn’t get the auditory activation that it’s used to, certain changes begin to take place within your neural physiology. This can lead to long term cognitive problems if your hearing loss isn’t dealt with.
Hearing Loss Shouldn’t be Ignored
Down the road, clearly, bigger and more substantial issues can be caused by hearing loss. But the opposite is true: recognizing and treating your hearing loss can enhance your quality of life considerably. When you can hear, your relationships get better and your every day life seems more full. And improving your awareness, either by seeing a hearing specialist or downloading a noise-monitoring app, can enhance your overall hearing health.
Hearing loss is definitely a health condition you shouldn’t neglect. A happier life begins when you find the correct treatment. Deal with your hearing loss before it gets too severe to ignore.