As we age, loss of hearing is commonly looked at as a fact of life. Loss of hearing is experienced by many older Americans as is tinnitus or a ringing in the ears. But if it’s such an accepted condition, why is it that so many people won’t admit that they suffer from loss of hearing?
A new study from Canada reports that loss of hearing is experienced by over half of Canadians, but no issues were reported at all by over 77% percent of those. Some kind of hearing loss is experienced by more than 48 million Americans and goes un-addressed. It’s debatable whether this denial is on purpose or not, but either way, loss of hearing is disregarded by a significant number of people – which could result in substantial problems down the road.
Why is Hearing Loss Not Recognized by Some people?
It’s a challenging matter. Hearing loss is a gradual process, and difficulty understanding people and hearing things go undetected. A lot of times they blame everybody else around them – the person they’re talking to is muttering, volumes aren’t turned up loud enough, or there’s too much background interference. hearing loss can be blamed, unfortunately, on a number of things, and people’s first reaction is not usually going to be to get examined or have a hearing test.
It also happens that some people just won’t acknowledge that they have hearing loss. Another study conducted in the United States shows that lots of seniors who have hearing problems flat out deny it. They mask their issue in any way they can, either because they don’t want to acknowledge an issue or because of perceived stigmas attached to hearing loss.
The problem with both of these situations is that by denying or not realizing you have a problem hearing you could actually be negatively influencing your general health.
There Can be Serious Repercussions From Untreated Hearing Loss
It’s not just your ears that are impacted by hearing loss – it has been linked to various ailments such as anxiety, cognitive decline, and depression, and it can also be a sign of heart disease and high blood pressure.
Research has demonstrated that people suffering from loss of hearing commonly have shorter life expectancy rates and their level of health is not as good as people who have addressed their hearing loss using hearing aids, changes in their diet, or cognitive behavioral treatment.
It’s important to acknowledge the signs of hearing loss – difficulty having conversations, turning up the volume on the TV and radio, or a chronic ringing or humming in your ears.
What Can be Done About Loss of Hearing?
There are a number of treatments you can do to get your loss of hearing under control. Hearing aids are the form of treatment that is the most prevalent, and hearing aid tech has developed by leaps and bounds over the past several years so it’s unlikely you’ll have the same problems your grandparents or parents did. Modern hearing aids have Bluetooth connectivity so they can connect wirelessly to your phone or TV and they are capable of filtering out background noise and wing.
A dietary changes could affect the health of your hearing if you suffer from anemia. Since anemia iron deficiency has been shown to cause hearing loss, people who have tinnitus can be helped by consuming foods that are rich in iron.
Getting your hearing examined on a regular basis, however, is the most significant thing you can do.
Do you suspect that might have hearing loss? Make an appointment to have a hearing assessment.