Impacting nearly 1 in 6 people, hearing loss has become the third most common medical condition people live with today. Over 48 million people have a hearing loss yet only one-third of people who could benefit from treatment are receiving it. This highlights how undertreated hearing loss, this widespread delay in treatment can take a toll on health in various ways. Untreated hearing loss not only results in a reduced capacity to hear; but it often strains communication, relationships, social life, and general wellness. Treatment offers life-changing benefits that can transform health and quality of life.
Benefits of Treating Hearing Loss
Treating hearing loss is a major investment in your health. Hearing plays such a critical role in daily life and is central to communication. So when hearing is impaired it produces multifaceted effects that impact all aspects of life: relationships, work performance, social engagement, and health. Treatment can alleviate symptoms and prevent the toll untreated hearing loss often takes on an individual and their loved ones. Key benefits that treatment offers are:
- Intrapersonal benefits: treating hearing loss significantly improves communication. Treatment alleviates symptoms that make it tough to hear causing conversations to be challenging to engage in. Hearing aids, the most common treatment for hearing loss, maximize hearing capacity, making it much easier to detect and process sound. This allows people to have conversations without the stress and pressure that hearing loss often produces. People can have easy conversations and communicate more readily. Treatment enables people to be more present and focused on the conversation. Being able to communicate and navigate daily environments with ease boosts confidence and a sense of independence.
- Social benefits: one major effect of untreated hearing loss is social withdrawal. Because interacting with others and having conversations requires more work, people often opt to avoid it as much as possible. This means skipping out on social activities, spending less time with family and friends, and participating in hobbies less. Social withdrawal produces loneliness, isolation, and stress. These symptoms contribute to the development of depression which people with hearing loss can be likely to experience. Treating hearing loss prevents this by providing ample support that makes hearing much easier which creates more possibilities for social engagement. People have a greater capacity to have conversations with multiple people and navigate social settings. Hearing aids support an active social life by assisting the auditory system across all environments.
- Health benefits: extensive research shows that untreated hearing loss increases health risks. Substantial studies show that hearing loss can increase the risk of cognitive decline, depression, and falls. Treatment reduces these risks in several important ways. Hearing aids improve brain health by strengthening cognitive functions. There are portions of the brain that help process speech and sound. Untreated hearing loss can take a toll on these areas in ways that lead to cognitive decline. Hearing aids prevent this by absorbing, amplifying, and processing sound which helps the brain, improving cognitive functions. Additionally, by supporting a thriving social life and improving relationships, treatment also alleviates depressive symptoms and can help to improve one’s mental health. Hearing aids also increase spatial awareness by maximizing hearing capacity, allowing people to be more aware of their surroundings. This decreases the risk of experiencing falls and subsequent injuries.
- Financial benefits: studies show that people with untreated hearing loss tend to have lower earning power compared to people without hearing loss. While people who treat their hearing loss have the same earning power as those without the condition. Untreated hearing loss can impact work performance and growth which impacts income. Treatment strengthens communication which is critical to success in the workplace.
Treating hearing loss offers countless benefits that can truly enhance all aspects of your life. Prioritizing hearing healthcare is one of the most important investments in your health that you can make.
Prioritize Hearing Health with Us!
Your hearing health is our priority! We provide expert informed care that is tailored to identify and meet your needs. The first step towards transforming your hearing health is to schedule an appointment for a hearing test. You can do this today by calling us for a hearing consultation!
