Hearing loss – it’s generally thought os as a fact of life as we age. Hearing loss is experienced by lots of older Americans as is tinnitus or a ringing in the ears. But for such an accepted condition many people still won’t admit they deal with hearing loss.
A new study from Canada says that hearing loss is experienced by more than half of Canadians, but that 77% of those people do not report any concerns. Some kind of hearing loss is experienced by over 48 million Americans and goes un-addressed. Whether this denial is on purpose or not is up for debate, but in either case, loss of hearing is ignored by a considerable number of people – which, in the future, could bring about considerable problems.
Why is Hearing Loss Not Recognized by Some people?
That question is a tricky one. Loss of hearing is a gradual process, and problems comprehending people and hearing things go unnoticed. Or, more commonly, they may blame it on something else – the person they’re talking to is muttering, the TV volume is too low, or there’s too much background noise. There are, unfortunately, a number of things that hearing loss can be blamed on, and people’s first instinct is not normally going to be to get checked out or have a hearing test.
On the other hand, there may be some people who know they have hearing loss but won’t accept it. Another study conducted in the United States shows that lots of seniors flat out refuse to admit that they are suffering from a hearing problem. They do everything they can to cover up their problem, either they recognize a stigma surrounding hearing loss or because they don’t want to admit to having an issue.
The concern is, you may be negatively impacting your general health by neglecting your hearing loss.
Untreated Hearing Loss Can Have a Catastrophic Impact
Hearing loss does not just impact your ears – it has been connected to different ailments such as anxiety, cognitive decline, and depression, and it can also be a symptom of high blood pressure and heart disease.
Research has shown that individuals who have managed their loss of hearing using cognitive therapy, diet changes and hearing aids have better general health and longer life expectancy.
It’s necessary to recognize the indications of hearing loss – continual humming or ringing in the ears, problems having conversations, needing to turn up the volume of your TV or radio.
What Can be Done to Treat Hearing Loss?
You can control your hearing loss with several treatments. Hearing aids are the most prevalent type of treatment, and hearing aid technology has developed by leaps and bounds over the last several years so it’s unlikely you’ll encounter the same issues your parents or grandparents did. Contemporary hearing aids come with Bluetooth connectivity so they can connect wirelessly to your phone or TV and they are capable of filtering out wind and background noise.
A changes in the way you eat could impact your hearing health if you suffer from anemia. Since anemia iron deficiency has been demonstrated to cause hearing loss, people who have tinnitus can be helped by eating foods that are high in iron.
Having your hearing examined routinely, however, is the most significant thing you can do.
Do you think that you’re suffering from hearing loss? Come in and get tested.