Are you amazed to learn that hearing loss is about more than just your ears? Ears are the means of hearing, so the damage done to them due to aging, trauma or illness is why someone can’t hear, but did you know there is more to it than that The loss of a person’s hearing bleeds into a number of other facets of their life. It is a dramatic change for somebody who has always had the ability to hear. Take some ways that hearing loss has a extensive impact on more than just the ears.
Earning Capability
A 2006 report published by the Australian firm Access Economics states there is a link between salary potential and hearing. They discovered that an individual with hearing loss could possibly make about 25 percent less than those that do listen, but why?
There are many things that could impact earnings. Somebody who works without any hearing assistance device such as a hearing aid might miss out on serious information. They may show up for a company meeting at 4 when it was really at 2 pm, for example. Employers tend to appreciate those with shrewd attention to detail, which is a challenge when you can’t hear the details.
Working environments can be noisy and chaotic, too. A person with hearing loss can quickly become confused with that noise around them. They’ll struggle to talk on the telephone, to listen to clients and to understand what coworkers are saying because in a loud environment the desktop sounds like clacking keyboards or an air conditioner engine become pronounced.
Relationships
Some of the same problems at work become an issue at home. Hearing loss has the potential to cause conflict, especially when the individual 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 person to recognize their hearing loss, which leads to friction, also. It is extremely common for someone with hearing loss to isolate themselves and refuse to go out and spend some time with other people. They struggle to keep up with conversations, so they so what the can to avoid them.
Mental Health Concerns
The issues at work and house take a toll on mental health over time. A 2014 study performed 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 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 approximately 11 percent with hearing loss.
A second study from the Senior Research Group indicates that the risk of mental health problems 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 sadness to sudden fits of anger more often than those that did wear them.
Safety Issues
Safety is always an issue for the hearing impaired. Most security systems, while it’s a smoke or carbon monoxide detector or a perimeter alert, work based on sound. They exude a high-frequency noise if there’s a danger. Even people with slight hearing loss can have trouble hearing high pitched tones.
Personal safety becomes an issue when a individual with hearing loss crosses the street or drives a car, too. Sound serves to signal 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’s not clear why people with hearing loss have a greater risk of dementia. The current theory is that the brain struggles to hear and to compensate, it robs other vital functions like short-term memory.
A 2011 study conducted by Johns Hopkins Medicine found that a person with minor hearing loss is twice as likely to develop dementia. Moderate hearing loss increases the risk by three times and a person with severe hearing impairment is five times more likely to get Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Hearing health is just one factor in memory loss conditions, but it’s an important one.
When someone has hearing loss, it is 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 lowers the chance of mental health problems, dementia and the various issues associated with hearing decline.