HIDDEN BENEFITS OF TREATMENT FOR HEARING LOSS

Hearing loss is one of the most prevalent chronic conditions in the United States, affecting more than nine million Americans over the age of 65 and 10 million Americans age 45 to 64. Hearing loss in adults has a number of contributing factors, including age, genetics, noise exposure, and chronic disease (such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and heart disease).  One of the first signs of hearing loss is often an inability to hear and understand speech in noisy environments.

Today’s hearing aids can automatically adjust to all kinds of sound environments and filter out noise. They are virtually invisible, sitting discreetly and comfortably inside the ear canal. Many are wireless, so you can stream sound from smartphones, home entertainment systems and other electronics directly into your hearing aids at volumes just right for you.

Unfortunately, only 20% of those individuals who might benefit from treatment actually seek help. Most tend to delay treatment until they cannot communicate even in the best of listening situations. There are many reasons why treating hearing loss early can have a huge positive impact on quality of life.

Preserve Your Remaining Hearing

Your ears, like all other parts of your body, are “use it or lose it”.  If hearing loss remains untreated, the ears and the brain are not receiving adequate stimulation, which can cause hearing to decline at a faster rate than it would if the hearing loss were properly treated.

Protect Your Earning Potential

Using hearing aids reduced the risk of income loss by 90-100 percent for those with milder hearing loss, and from 65-77 percent for those with severe to moderate hearing loss.  According to a Better Hearing Institute (BHI) study, people with untreated hearing loss lost as much as $30,000 in income annually.

Keep Your Mind Sharp

Research shows a link between hearing loss and memory, leading experts to believe that interventions, like hearing aids, could potentially delay or prevent dementia. If you have to put in a lot of effort just to comprehend what you’re hearing, it takes away resources that would otherwise be available to help store information in your memory.

Reduce Risk of Falls

A Johns Hopkins study showed that people in middle age (40-69) with even just mild hearing loss were nearly three times more likely to have a history of falling. The intensive listening effort demanded by unaddressed hearing loss may take cognitive resources away from what is needed for balance and gait.

Keep Yourself Safe

Can you hear the telephone or doorbell ringing from another room?  What about the smoke detector?  The standard smoke alarm that is widely use emits a tone with a frequency of around 3000 to 4000 Hz–the very range most commonly first affected by hearing loss.  Can you hear the hum of a car coming up behind you when walking down the street, or the a siren from an approaching ambulance?  Hearing loss can present safety concerns, especially for those who live alone.

Lessen Stress on Your Brain

Working hard to hear tires out your brain.  When you have a hearing loss, even to a mild degree, it is common to be able to hear people talking, but not quite be able to make out what they said.  Your brain has to work harder to fill in the blanks, especially in background noise, which leaves you spent by the end of the day.

Tone Down Tinnitus

When your ears and your brain aren’t receiving enough stimulation–such as when you have a hearing loss–they will sometimes create their own stimulation in the form of a ringing or buzzing sound that only you can hear, a phenomenon known as tinnitus.  Hearing aids can help reduce the perception of tinnitus by amplifying the sounds you want to hear. Just taking the focus off the tinnitus can provide relief for many people.  Hearing aids also reduce the stress associated with intensive listening, which alone can help relieve tinnitus symptoms.

Stay Involved

Being hard of hearing tends to isolate people from others. When you have to struggle to converse, you’re less likely to want to socialize in groups or go out to restaurants. And being socially disconnected has long been recognized as a risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia.

Have you had your hearing checked?  Our mission is to provide 1000 free hearing screenings in 2015.  Call today for an appointment– (410) 672-1233.