You can end up in the hospital if you don’t properly treat your hearing loss symptoms. I know that sounds like an exaggeration. We’re used to thinking of hearing loss as little more than a hassle – something that makes the news a bit more difficult to hear or, at worst, makes you unwittingly agree to something you didn’t mean.

But current research is causing alarm about the long-term health impacts of untreated hearing loss.

How is Your Health Related to Hearing Loss?

At first glance, hearing loss doesn’t appear to have much to do with other health concerns. But research conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reveals that untreated hearing loss can lead to a 50% increase in hospital visits over time. The longer the hearing loss remains unmanaged, the more severe the health havoc get.

That seems like a strange discovery: what does hearing have to do with your general health? That question can have a complicated answer.

The Connection Between Mental Health And Hearing

Here are a number of the health concerns linked to hearing loss:

• Higher instance of depression and anxiety. Basically, the likelihood of anxiety and depression increases with hearing loss and that will lead to health issues both physical and mental.
• Loss of balance. Hearing loss can make it more difficult to keep your balance and maintain situational focus.
• Memory can start to fail. In fact, your odds of getting dementia is twice as high with neglected hearing loss.

Hearing Aids Really Help

It’s not all gloom and doom, however. Far from it. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School research reveals that up to 75% of the mental decline associated with hearing loss can be halted by one basic solution: using a hearing aid.

The health risks linked to hearing loss can be significantly reduced by wearing hearing aids. According to the research, individuals who used hearing aids for only two weeks saw:

• Traumatic brain injury reductions.
• Improvements in awareness and balance.
• Improvements in brain function.

The researchers from Johns Hopkins looked at data from 77,000 patients accumulated over roughly twenty years. And what they found is staggeringly simple: protecting your hearing is crucial to preserving your health. Taking care of your hearing health also benefits your financial well-being, because being sick can be expensive.

Caring For Your Health And Your Hearing

Hearing loss is not exclusive to the aging process but it is a part of it. Because of accidents, occupational hazards, and disease, hearing loss can occur regardless of how old you are.

However or whenever you lose your hearing, it’s really important to address it. Otherwise, your health could be negatively impacted.