Hearing Loss Impacts More Than Just Your Hearing

Are you surprised to learn that hearing loss is more than just your ears? Ears are the method of hearing, so the damage done to them because of aging, injury or illness is why someone can't hear, but did you know there's more to it than that The loss of a person's hearing bleeds into a number of other aspects 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 extensive impact on more than just the ears.

Earning Capability

A 2006 report published by the Australian company Access Economics states there is a connection between salary potential and hearing. They discovered that an individual with hearing loss will possibly make about 25 percent less than the ones that do listen, but why?

There are many things that could affect earnings. Somebody who works without any hearing assistance device such as a hearing aid might miss out on crucial information. They may appear for a company meeting at 4 when it was actually at 2 pm, for instance. Managers tend to appreciate those with shrewd attention to detail, and that's a challenge when you can't hear the details.

Working environments can be noisy and crazy, too. A person with hearing loss can quickly become confused with all that noise around them. They will struggle to speak 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 motor become conspicuous.

Relationships

Some of the very same problems at work become a problem at home. Hearing loss has the potential to cause conflict, especially when the person with the problem continues to deny it. Little things such as saying "what" a lot during conversations and turning the TV up too loud irritate friends, relatives, and spouses.

They may try to intervene and encourage this individual to recognize their hearing loss, and that leads to friction, also. It is extremely common for someone with hearing loss to isolate themselves and refuse to go out and spend time with others. They struggle to keep up with conversations, so that they so what the can to prevent them.

Mental Health Concerns

The problems 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 melancholy. Their research indicates an increased risk of depression, particularly among women 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 by the Senior Research Group suggests that the risk of mental health issues including depression, anxiety and paranoia goes up when a person 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

Security is always a concern for the hearing impaired. Most security systems, while it is a smoke or carbon monoxide detector or a perimeter alarm, work based on noise. They exude a high-frequency noise if there's a danger. Even people with minor hearing loss can have difficulty hearing high pitched tones.

Personal security becomes a problem when a person with hearing loss crosses 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 link between cognitive decline and hearing loss. It's not clear why people with hearing loss have a higher 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 discovered that 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 types of dementia. Hearing health is just 1 factor in memory loss conditions, but it's an important one.

When a person has hearing loss, it's true there is probably something wrong with their ears, but that's just where it starts. The fantastic news is that getting help in the kind of hearing aids and other treatment options lowers the chance of mental health issues, dementia and the different issues associated with hearing decline.