It’s more than just your relationships affected by ignoring your hearing loss. The health impacts go way beyond.
Dementia
Research from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine found the risk of developing dementia exponentially increased with untreated hearing loss. Even for those with mild hearing loss, there’s double the risk of developing dementia compared to those without hearing loss. For those with moderate hearing loss, the risk increases five times. And with severe hearing loss, you’re at 10 times the risk of developing dementia.
Dementia takes away your freedom. Along with memory and problem-solving challenges, those with dementia can lose their ability to walk or even get out of a chair on their own.
Serious falls
More research from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine has found a profound link between untreated hearing loss and the type of serious falls that can put you in hospital. Balance is controlled in your ears but additionally you may be missing auditory cues from your environment when you have hearing loss. It also takes a lot of brain power just to walk and when you add to that the immense brain activity it requires to interpret a world you can’t hear properly, you have brain overload resulting in a serious fall.
If just falling down isn’t undignified enough, according to Statistics Canada approximately 1/3 of seniors admitted to hospital for a fall wind up in long term care.
Depression
Sticking with Johns Hopkins but this time The Bloomberg School of Public Health, if you have hearing loss, you’re at a 40% increased risk of developing depression. Hearing loss affects you emotionally and mentally. It interferes with your ability to socialize and communicate. The inability to hear clearly can cause disorientation and you may find yourself acting in socially unacceptable ways – like speaking out of turn.
The mental exhaustion of trying to figure out a world you can’t hear very well can cause you to isolate yourself. It can create anxiety and according to the American National Council on Aging, the social exclusion and loneliness that comes with untreated hearing loss can predispose people schizophrenia.
What are you waiting for?
A hearing test is non-invasive and painless. If you suspect you (or a loved one) has hearing loss, book a FREE hearing test with us today. Knowing where you stand can make all the difference.