Are you taken aback to learn that hearing loss is about more than just your ears? Ears are the mechanisms of hearing, so the harm done to them because of aging, trauma or disease is why someone can’t hear, but did you know there is more to it than the loss of a person’s hearing bleeds into many 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 released by the Australian firm Access Economics states there is a link between salary potential and hearing. They found that an individual with hearing loss will potentially make about 25 percent less than the ones that do hear, but why?
There are many things that could affect earnings. Somebody who works with no hearing assistance device such as a hearing aid might miss out on weighty material. They may show up for a business meeting at 4 if it was actually at 2 pm, for instance. Managers tend to value those with keen attention to detail, which is a challenge when you can not hear the specifics.
Work environments can be noisy and crazy, too. A person with hearing loss can become confused with that noise around them. They will struggle to talk on the phone, to listen to customers and to understand what coworkers are saying because in a noisy environment the desktop sounds like clacking keyboards or an air conditioner vent 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 like saying “what” a lot during conversations and turning the TV up too loud irritate friends, family members, and spouses.
They may try to intervene and encourage this individual 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 time with others. They struggle to keep up with conversations, so that they so what the can to avoid 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 discovered a cause and effect relationship between hearing loss and melancholy. Their research suggests an increased risk of depression, especially among girls 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 issues including depression, anxiety and paranoia goes up when a individual with hearing loss does not use hearing aids. The study participants who didn’t wear hearing aids reported everything from feelings of sadness to sudden fits of anger more often than those who did wear them.
Safety Issues
Security is always an issue for the hearing impaired. Most security systems, while it’s a smoke or carbon monoxide detector or a perimeter alarm, work based on noise. They emit a high-frequency noise if there’s a danger. Even people with minor hearing loss can have trouble hearing high pitched tones.
Personal safety becomes a problem when a person with hearing loss spans the road 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 connection between cognitive decline and hearing loss. It isn’t clear why people with hearing loss have a higher risk of dementia. The current theory is that the mind struggles to hear and to compensate, it robs other vital functions like memory.
A 2011 study conducted by Johns Hopkins Medicine found that even 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 have Alzheimer’s disease and other forms 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’s likely 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 choices reduces the chance of mental health problems, dementia and the different issues associated with hearing decline.
