As we get older, hearing loss is commonly perceived as an inescapable fact of life. Lots of older Americans have some kind of hearing loss or tinnitus, which is a continuous ringing in the ears. But if it’s such an accepted condition, why do so many people deny that they deal with loss of hearing?
A new study from Canada suggests that over 50 percent of all middle aged or older Canadians cope with some form of loss of hearing, but that 77% of those people do not report any problems. Some type of hearing loss is impacting more than 48 million Americans and untreated. If this denial is deliberate or not is debatable, but the fact remains that a substantial number of individuals let their hearing loss go unchecked – which could bring about considerable issues later on in life.
Why is Loss of Hearing Missed by Some people?
It’s a tricky question. Loss of hearing is a gradual process, and difficulty understanding people and hearing things go undetected. A lot of times they blame everybody else around them – they think everyone is mumbling, volumes aren’t turned up loud enough, or there’s too much background interference. hearing loss can be blamed, unfortunately, on quite a few things, and getting a hearing test or getting checked out, normally, is not a person’s first instinct.
It also happens that some people just won’t acknowledge that they have hearing loss. Another study conducted in the United States shows that many seniors who suffer from hearing issues flat out deny it. They do everything they can to cover up their problem, either because they don’t want to acknowledge an issue or because of perceived stigmas attached to hearing loss.
The trouble with both of these situations is that by denying or not realizing you have a hearing problem you could actually be negatively impacting your overall health.
There Can be Extreme Repercussions From Untreated Hearing Loss
Loss of hearing does not exclusively impact your ears – it has been linked to various ailments like anxiety, cognitive decline, and depression, and it can also be a symptom of heart disease and high blood pressure.
Research has shown that people who have addressed their hearing loss using cognitive therapy, diet changes and hearing aids have better all-around health and longer life expectancy.
It’s necessary to acknowledge the signs of hearing loss – continual humming or ringing in the ears, problems carrying on conversations, having to turn up the volume of your TV or radio.
What Can be Done About Hearing Loss?
There are several treatment options you can do to get your hearing loss under control. Hearing aids are the form of treatment that is the most prevalent, and you won’t experience the same types of issues that your grandparents or parents did because hearing aid technology has advanced appreciably. Modern hearing aids have Bluetooth functionality so they can connect wirelessly to your smartphone or TV and they have the ability to filter out background noise and wing.
A changing your diet could affect your hearing health if you suffer from anemia. Consuming more foods that are high in iron has been discovered to help people deal with tinnitus and hearing loss since iron deficiency anemia has been demonstrated to result in loss of hearing.
Getting your hearing tested routinely, however, is the most important thing you can do.
Do you think that might have loss of hearing? Visit us and get screened.