5 Reasons to Get Your Hearing Checked
The quality of our life is greatly influenced by the strength of our hearing. From our ability to communicate to simply being able to balance ourselves upright, your hearing health affects many aspects of your life.
Did you know that most people with hearing loss wait 7 years before reaching out to a doctor? In those 7 years, numerous medical issues might arise and social isolation may set in.
At Hearing Health Center, we want everyone to have excellent hearing health for the rest of their lives. If you’re still not convinced, here are 5 reasons to get your hearing checked right away.
1. Slow Cognitive Function Decline
Doctors have identified that hearing loss is directly related to cognitive decline. Hearing loss is one of the early signs of dementia and “people who develop hearing problems during mid-life (aged 40–65) have an increased risk of developing dementia.”
Hearing loss is estimated to account for 8% of all dementia cases but there are options to slow the development of these cognitive problems.
Research suggests that hearing aids help prevent cognitive decline. One study revealed an almost 50% reduction in the rate of cognitive decline in those who wore hearing aids compared to those who didn’t.
Getting your hearing checked allows you to recognize the early signs of dementia and prevent them from affecting your daily life.
2. Improve Social Life
Social connections and healthy relationships help people live longer, happier lives. And one of the keys to continuing or building those connections is healthy hearing.
The harder it is to hear, the harder it is to understand and engage in conversations with friends and family. Hearing loss suddenly becomes a barrier to communication and the community around you.
A 1999 study recognized that those with hearing loss were more likely to “report depression, anxiety, and paranoia and were less likely to participate in organized social activities” compared to those who wore hearing aids.
Social isolation is a serious problem, and it’s important to get your hearing health checked out before it affects how you connect with others.
3. Avoid Accidents
Your hearing health matters when it comes to avoiding accidents: the inability to hear sound correctly and the cognitive functions that come with hearing loss.
Let’s start with missing warning signals. With good hearing, you can hear a car coming down the road, the sound of something slipping off the counter, or even an alarm going off at work. With poor hearing, you miss all of those warning signals leading to higher risks of injury.
On a different note, studies report that those with hearing loss have an increased risk of falling, or losing their balance.
Researchers have yet to find the exact reason, but some believe that those with hearing loss suffer from decreased spatial awareness of the environment around them. Another theory is that the cognitive resources required to understand sounds with hearing loss leads to fewer cognitive resources to maintain balance.
With a simple hearing test, we can help you stay on your feet and enjoy life.
4. Identify Underlying Health Issues
Dementia isn’t the only health issue affected by hearing loss.
Studies revealed that there may be some connection between hearing loss and diabetes. In the study, doctors “found that hearing loss is twice as common in people with diabetes as it is in those who don’t have diabetes.” For those struggling with prediabetes, the rate of hearing loss is 30 percent higher than those with normal blood sugar levels.
While there is yet to be a direct causal relationship between hearing loss and heart disease, there is enough evidence to suggest there might be. Research believes that treating cardiovascular disease early prevents hearing loss, while early detection of hearing loss might signify underlying cardiovascular disease.
Don’t risk your longterm health, get your hearing checked today.
5. Prevent Further Hearing Loss
While this might seem obvious, a hearing test helps protect you from further hearing loss. Understanding and identifying causes, or working with your doctor to find solutions helps protect your hearing over the course of your life.
Early detection is important as it helps identify underlying diseases, and promote communication.
Need Your Hearing Checked? Schedule an Appointment Today!
If you or someone you know is experiencing signs of hearing loss—such as frequently asking others to repeat themselves, increasing the volume on devices, or difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments, schedule a hearing test today.
Hearing Health Center has been helping people hear nationwide since 1984. Contact us today for a free baseline hearing test and start improving your hearing health right away.
