Are you amazed to learn that hearing loss is about more than just your ears? Ears are the tools of hearing, so the harm done to them because of aging, injury or disease is why someone can not hear, but did you know there is more to it than the loss of one’s hearing bleeds into a number of other facets of their life. It’s a dramatic change for somebody who has always had the ability to hear. Consider some ways that hearing loss has a significant impact on more than just the ears.
Earning Ability
A 2006 report published by the Australian company Access Economics states there’s a link between salary potential and hearing. They discovered that an individual with hearing loss could potentially make about 25 percent less than the ones that do listen, but why?
There are many things that could affect earnings. Somebody who works with no hearing assistance device such as a hearing aid might miss out on weighty information. They might appear for a business meeting at 4 if it was actually at 2 pm, for instance. Employers tend to value those with keen attention to detail, and that’s a challenge when you can’t hear the specifics.
Working environments can be loud and crazy, too. A individual with hearing loss can quickly become confused with that sound around them. They’ll struggle to talk on the phone, to listen to clients and to understand what coworkers are saying because in a loud environment the desktop sounds like clicking keyboards or an air conditioner engine become pronounced.
Relationships
Some of the very same problems at work become a problem at home. Hearing loss has the potential to cause conflict, particularly when the person with the problem continues to deny it. Little things such as saying “what” a lot during discussions and turning the TV up too loud irritate friends, relatives, and spouses.
They may attempt to intervene and encourage this individual to recognize their hearing loss, and that leads to friction, as well. It’s extremely common for people with hearing loss to detach themselves and refuse to go out and spend time with other people. They struggle to keep up with conversations, so they so what the can to prevent them.
Mental Health Concerns
The issues at work and house take a toll on mental health over time. A 2014 study conducted by the U.S. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders found a cause and effect relationship between hearing loss and depression. Their research suggests an increased risk of depression, especially among girls and people under the age of 70. Their risk of depression goes from 5 percent to about 11 percent with hearing loss.
A second study from the Senior Research Group indicates that the chance of mental health problems including depression, anxiety and paranoia goes up when a individual with hearing loss doesn’t use hearing aids. The study participants who did not wear hearing aids reported everything from feelings of despair to sudden fits of anger more often than those who did wear them.
Safety Issues
Safety is always a concern for the hearing impaired. Most security systems, while it is a smoke or carbon monoxide detector or a perimeter alert, work based on noise. They exude a high-frequency noise when there is a danger. Even people with minor hearing loss can have trouble hearing high pitched tones.
Personal security becomes a problem when a person with hearing loss spans the street or drives a car, too. Sound serves to indicate problems like a car coming down the street or a horn honking.
Cognitive Functioning
Medical science has made a connection between cognitive decline and hearing loss. It isn’t clear why people with hearing loss have a greater risk of dementia. The current theory is that the brain struggles to listen and to compensate, it robs other vital functions like short-term memory.
A 2011 study conducted by Johns Hopkins Medicine found that even a person with minor hearing loss is twice as likely to develop dementia. Moderate hearing loss increases the risk by three times and an individual with severe hearing impairment is five times more likely to get Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Hearing health is just 1 factor in memory loss conditions, but it is an important one.
When someone has hearing loss, it’s true there is probably something wrong with their ears, but that’s just where it begins. The fantastic news is that getting help in the kind of hearing aids and other treatment choices reduces the chance of mental health problems, dementia and the different issues associated with hearing decline.
