4 Impacts of Untreated Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is a physical loss of a sense to some degree but what’s not covered enough is the emotional effects that can come from untreated hearing loss. Many people go about their lives with a degree of hearing loss instead of getting help in improving it. There are plenty of studies that have linked untreated hearing loss to health conditions. Here are four impacts of untreated hearing loss:

Fatigue and tension

One of the difficulties when it comes to untreated hearing loss is that you or the person in question might spend a lot of time concentrating on listening to conversations. If you’ve not treated your hearing loss, then it can lead to fatigue and tension in the body that isn’t needed. It’s only going to make that individual feel a lot worse, on top of having to concentrate when listening to conversations.

This fatigue and tension could cause other health problems, beyond just the emotional side of it.

Social rejection and loneliness

When it’s hard to hear a conversation, especially in social environments, it can cause the individual to shy away from these interactions. A person who goes about with untreated hearing loss might find themselves saying no to more social occasions and perhaps will continue to spend more time alone than with others.

This social rejection and loneliness can lead to a lot of emotional stress, like depression and even anxiety for some. The stress of having to be in these environments where they find it difficult to hear can also be a lot for an individual to go through on a regular basis.

A risk to personal safety

With hearing loss, there are levels of hearing loss that can worsen the more damaged the hearing is. With that being said, there can be a real risk to personal safety if this hearing loss goes untreated. The reason for this is that softer and quieter sounds might not be heard and that could be dangerous in certain situations. You might not hear a car approaching as you cross the road or you may cause an accident to someone else because you didn’t hear their warning.

It’s important to get the help needed when it comes to this potential impact, especially when it’s risking your health and safety.

Cognitive health

When your hearing ability isn’t what it used to be, it results in your brain not receiving as much stimulation. As a result, this can lead to memory loss and even dementia. So, something that impacts your hearing can also impact your sense of memory and could lead to life-threatening illnesses.

If this happens, then you will weaken the body in other ways and this can lead to a lot of serious health problems as a result.

For untreated hearing loss, it’s certainly worth visiting an audiologist. They can help in assessing your hearing and working out what options are best for you when it comes to improving your hearing quality. Don’t let it go untreated as it may cause you more harm than good.