For anyone that doesn’t think that hearing loss is a serious issue, nothing could be further from the truth. Our entire health is connected so when one aspect is affected it can create a domino effect of health complications. Hearing loss is a communication issue that affects your relationships at home and at work. This can eventually affect your mood, self-esteem and sense of independence ultimately causing chronic depression, anxiety and sleeplessness. While most hearing loss is irreversible it can be effectively treated with hearing aids. These amazing digital devices keep getting smaller, more powerful and with more capability. Don’t let your symptoms of untreated hearing loss get worse when there are so many options and benefits to treating hearing loss. Here are just a few key perks for taking the leap and scheduling a hearing test.
Improved communication
Your relationships are deeply affected more than you may even notice at first. Do people ask you questions, and you have to ask them to repeat, or even more embarrassingly, you respond appropriately to questions, comments or jokes. This can create a lot of stress in social situations as you grow further away from the people in your life and fail to make new social connections. Hearing aids can amplify the sounds of the people in your life, so you don’t have to struggle, and you can navigate relationships, confidently and capably.
Improved intimacy
For many of us, our relationships with our significant other roots us in the world. They support us in good times and bad. However, in any healthy relationship people love to feel heard and understood. It’s no surprise that hearing loss can greatly impact these most intimate relationships. It’s the small talk and inside jokes that actually brings people close together. As these become less and less you may find that the most supportive relationship in your life is not as strong as it used to be. Treating hearing loss can allow you to try to rebuild this rift and begin to connect again.
Improved Independence
You may have also found that you rely on others to help you navigate the world. When you go to the store, you may use the person with you as a translator because of your hearing impairment. It may be increasingly difficult to drive a car as you are less alert due to an audio deficiency. Many also find it difficult to safely walk down a busy street and are more prone to falls and accidents. That is because normal hearing not only helps you communicate but also helps inform your space. You can locate sounds and determine their proximity, direction and even speed when you have healthy hearing. The good news is that many hearing aids can greatly improve your ability to navigate space, improving your sense of independence and likeliness to do more things independently.
Benefits for Your Health
Hearing occurs in the brain. When your brain doesn’t receive all the information it needs to properly process sound it is forced to work overtime and use other parts of the brain to compensate. This is not only exhausting for a person with untreated hearing loss but can cause cognitive decline and increase the likeliness of developing dementia.
Benefits for Your Career
Your personal relationships are not the only ones affected by untreated hearing loss. Constant mistakes and miscommunication at work can cause your co-workers and employer to rely on you less. People with untreated hearing loss are more likely to be unemployed or earn less. It is also all too common for those with hearing loss to be passed up for promotions and raises. While under the American Disabilities Act of 1990, your employer cannot discriminate against you, based on your hearing loss, if you are not open or aware of your condition, they may be likely to assume you are not cut out to do the job. This is why being open about your condition can actually help you. Not only can you seek treatment but you can ask for accommodations around your hearing loss so you can succeed better at work.
Make an Appointment Today
We are here to help. Once you take the leap to treat your hearing loss you can partake in so many aspects of your life you may have forgotten you once enjoyed. Treat your hearing loss for your health, for your career, for your loved ones and most importantly for your happiness!