The Effects of Untreated Hearing Loss

August 2, 2023

Hearing loss can affect your life in a number of ways. Living with untreated hearing loss may lead to mental, emotional, and even physical consequences. As such, it is important to treat hearing loss when you first begin to notice hearing difficulties with quality hearing aids.

Hearing Loss and Communication

If you have untreated hearing loss, you’ve already noticed that communication is more difficult than before. You may not hear people when they speak to you and you have a difficult time following conversations. You may ask people to repeat themselves and you may be concerned your loved ones are getting frustrated.

Treating hearing loss restores communication. Hearing aids help you connect with your family and friends in a whole new way! You’ll easily hear what people say the first time, rather than asking people to repeat themselves. Hearing aids help you hear conversations in the presence of background noise. When you treat your hearing loss, you’ll enjoy effortless communication and enjoy communicating with your loved ones again.

Hearing Loss and Social Isolation

If you have hearing loss you might be staying home more often than before or feel socially isolated. That’s because people with hearing loss are at a greater risk of loneliness and social isolation. When you can’t follow conversations, you may be embarrassed to socialize with friends because oftentimes you can misinterpret what your friends and family may be saying. You may even find yourself answering questions inappropriately.

Treating hearing loss can help you enjoy social events! Hearing aids make it easy to ignore distracting background sounds, so you can focus on conversations. Treating hearing loss makes it easy to follow conversations, even in places with a lot of background noise. You’ll also be able to hear in auditoriums, concert halls, and churches. Hearing aids help you enjoy socializing again by making hearing effortless.

Hearing Loss and Listening Effort

Have you been straining to hear? If you feel like you spend all day struggling to hear and get home completely exhausted at the end of the day, you’re not alone. People with hearing loss often report listening fatigue. Having to guess what people are saying forces you to concentrate harder leading to exhaustion and a reduced ability to recall conversations.

Treating hearing loss can help you hear without putting in all that extra effort! Your hearing aids will be calibrated to match your exact hearing loss. This means they’ll help you hear all the sounds you’ve been straining to hear. You will no longer feel that people mumble. You will enjoy work and social events again with reduced mental fatigue.

Hearing Loss and Brain Health

Since everything you hear is processed by the brain, untreated hearing loss can have a major impact on your brain health. People with hearing loss are at a greater risk of cognitive decline. When you’re not hearing all the sounds around you, your brain is working harder to help you fill in the missing information. All the energy that gets used to help you hear can’t be used to help you focus on tasks, consolidate memories, or keep your brain healthy.

Treating hearing loss is good for your brain! When you treat your hearing loss you can reduce the strain on your brain and reserve your brainpower for all the important tasks throughout the day. Treating hearing loss will also reduce your rate of cognitive decline. Studies have shown that people who wear quality hearing aids can keep their brain healthy and lower their risk of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

Hearing Loss and Physical Health

Untreated hearing loss can take a toll on your physical health and can also increase your risk of an accident or fall. When you have hearing loss, it’s harder to hear all the sounds in your environment or localize where sounds are coming from which can put you at a greater risk for accidents or falls.

Hearing aids can keep you safe! Treating hearing loss makes it easy to localize sounds. You’ll also be able to hear a car honking, your tea kettle whistling, and sounds coming from your microwave or oven. When you wear hearing aids, you’ll reduce your risk of an accident. Hearing aids make it easy and fun to be active and stay healthy.

If you’re ready to experience the many benefits of treating hearing loss, contact us today!

Written by
Reviewed by
Dr. Emma Durazzo
Owner & Doctor of Audiology
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With years of experience and continued professional training, Emma Durazzo (formerly Emma McCue) has developed her expertise in a variety of subspecialties within the scope of audiology.