Hearing loss – it’s generally thought to be a fact of life as we get older. Loss of hearing is experienced by many older Americans as is tinnitus or a ringing in the ears. But for such an accepted ailment many people still deny they suffer from hearing loss.
A new study from Canada suggests that more than 50 percent of all middle aged or older Canadians cope with some form of loss of hearing, but that 77% of those individuals do not document any issues. Some type of hearing loss is impacting over 48 million Americans and untreated. If this denial is deliberate or not is up for debate, but either way, loss of hearing is ignored by a significant number of people – which, down the road, could cause substantial problems.
Why do Some People Not Know They Have Loss of Hearing?
It’s a challenging question. It’s a slow process when someone loses their hearing, and difficulty comprehending people and hearing things go undetected. Or, more commonly, they may blame it on something else – the person they’re speaking to is mumbling, volumes aren’t turned up loud enough, or there’s too much background noise. There are, unfortunately, quite a few things that hearing loss can be blamed on, and people’s first reaction is not normally going to be to get examined or get a hearing test.
It also happens that some people just won’t admit that they have hearing loss. Another study conducted in the United States shows that lots of seniors flat out refuse to admit that they are suffering from a hearing issue. They do what they can to hide their problem, either they recognize a stigma surrounding hearing loss or because they don’t want to admit to having an issue.
The difficulty is, you could be negatively influencing your overall health by neglecting your hearing loss.
Neglected Hearing Loss Can Have a Devastating Affect
It’s not only your ears that are affected by hearing loss – heart disease and high blood pressure have also been associated with hearing loss as well as anxiety, depression, and mental decline.
Research has revealed that people suffering from loss of hearing generally have shorter life expectancy rates and their level of health is not as strong as others who have managed their hearing loss using hearing aids, dietary changes, or cognitive behavioral therapy.
It’s crucial to identify the signs of hearing loss – persistent ringing or humming in the ears, difficulty carrying on conversations, having to turn up the volume of your radio or TV.
How do You Treat Hearing Loss?
You can control your hearing loss with a number of treatment options. Hearing aids are the most common type of treatment, and you won’t experience the same types of issues that your parents or grandparents did because hearing aid tech has advanced considerably. Modern hearing aids come with Bluetooth functionality so they can connect wirelessly to your smartphone or TV and they are capable of filtering out background noise and wing.
A changing your diet could impact the health of your hearing if you have anemia. Eating more foods that are rich in iron has been shown to help people fight tinnitus and loss of hearing since iron deficiency anemia has been shown to lead to hearing loss.
Getting your hearing examined regularly, however, is the most important thing you can do.
Are you concerned you might have hearing troubles? Schedule an appointment to have a hearing examination.