Between hectic schedules and the disruptions of events, it’s all too easy to put off essential appointments, like those with a hearing specialist or for fitting hearing aids. You might not even get around to shopping for hearing aids at all. But hearing loss impacts more than only your ears and holding off on treatment can have detrimental effects on your whole life.
Untreated hearing loss can result in a higher risk of cognitive decline
Scientists have demonstrated a clear link between untreated hearing loss and mental decline. This underscores the crucial importance of not delaying treatment, as it can have negative effects on your brain function as well.
Hearing loss will worsen if it goes untreated
If you care about your hearing health, it’s important to never ignore any symptoms of hearing loss. By avoiding appointments with a hearing specialist or holding off on the purchase of hearing aids, you inadvertently subject your ears to further damage.
You may find yourself constantly increasing the volume on your various devices, worsening the damage to your ears and speeding up the progression of hearing loss. Hearing aids can amplify particular frequencies of sound thereby delaying the development of hearing loss.
The link to mental function
There’s a direct link between your sense of hearing and your brain. Cognitive function can be seriously impacted by untreated hearing loss according to some substantial research. Over time, mental decline can be exacerbated by depression and anxiety caused by social separation.
Furthermore, long-term neglected hearing loss causes the brain to adapt by reallocating resources from processing sound to other functions, such as visual processing, potentially complicating the recovery of healthy hearing function later on.
Navigating neuroplasticity
The brain’s amazing ability to adapt, known as neuroplasticity, is both a friend and a foe in this situation. While it allows for flexibility and recovery, sustained neglected hearing loss can result in significant rewiring of the brain, making it difficult to revert to previous functionality.
However, it’s not impossible to undo these effects. In both the short and the long term, utilizing hearing aids can bring considerable benefits even if you’ve put off on getting treatment for some time.
Call us for an appointment
You should obviously seek treatment as soon as possible, but even if you’ve put off for a while, it’s not too late to get help. Making an appointment with us as soon as you can is essential, ensuring you can enjoy better hearing and mental function moving forward. Call today!
