So you\u2019ve got a little hearing loss. What\u2019s the big deal, right? It happens to almost all of us as we age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FACT:<\/strong> 37.5 million Americans 18 and older have hearing loss, including one out of every three, 60 and older. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can cope, you\u2019ve decided. You\u2019ll just turn the TV up a little louder. Ask people to speak up or repeat what they said. And hey, the quiet can be kind of nice, to be honest. \u201cWhy should I treat it,\u201d you wonder?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The decision to treat or ignore hearing loss should not be taken lightly. Why? Because hearing loss plays a significant role in many important issues that impact our quality of life, including five important ones:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before you decide whether to ignore or treat your hearing loss, read what studies, health care experts, and hearing aid wearers themselves have to say about each choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Numerous studies link hearing loss to issues of mental decline, including increased anxiety and depression, accelerated brain shrinkage, and even dementia. One such study, by Johns Hopkins Medicine, tested volunteers with hearing loss over six years and found their cognitive abilities declined 30-40% faster than peers with normal hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Johns Hopkins\u2019 researcher, Dr. Frank Lin, thinks that \u201cif you want to address hearing loss well, do it sooner rather than later.\u201d He recommends treating hearing loss before \u201cbrain structural changes take place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A separate study released in 2015 backs him up. In the study, scientists concluded that treating hearing loss by wearing hearing aids reduces the risk of cognitive decline associated with hearing loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n FACT:\u00a0<\/strong>Untreated hearing loss may result in serious long-term consequences to healthy brain functioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The National Council on Aging notes that \u201cfalls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries for older Americans.\u201d While no one knows how many falls are linked to hearing loss each year, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have found that people with hearing loss are three times more likely to fall than those without hearing loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s thought that hearing loss may detract from environmental awareness, which increases the likelihood of tripping and falling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recently, a study by the Washington University School of Medicine found that improving hearing through hearing aids appears to \u201cimprove balance in older adults with hearing loss\u201d and helps reduce the risk of falls. Researchers credited the results to both increased alertness and improved balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A study by the Better Hearing Institute quantified the impact of untreated hearing loss on the job. The study found that people with untreated hearing loss can see an income hit of up to $30,000 annually, and were nearly twice as likely to be unemployed as peers who wore hearing aids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n QUOTE:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cHearing loss was affecting my presentations and ability to service clients.\u201d Chris T., Pennsylvania<\/p>\n\n\n\n That same study found that people who use hearing aids reduced the risk of income loss by 90 to 100 percent. It also reported that most hearing aid users in the workforce said wearing hearing aids has helped their performance on the job.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n QUOTE:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cListening is SO important in my work, and I can now work better, more efficiently and more effectively because of my hearing aids.\u201d Marty C., New York<\/p>\n\n\n\n Studies aren\u2019t needed to know that missed or misheard signals like car horns, alarms and other warning alerts can jeopardize a person\u2019s safety. And it doesn\u2019t always have to be one\u2019s own. Adults caring for infants and young children need to know when their charge is crying or in distress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Treating hearing loss with hearing aids enhances your awareness of your surroundings and can help ensure you hear every smoke detector, bike bell, emergency alert or distress call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More than anything, untreated hearing loss can lead to social isolation, as the challenges of listening and feelings of \u201cmissing out\u201d often cause people to withdraw from the friends, family and activities that bring them joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This, alone, is significant, as social isolation is closely linked to numerous quality-of-life issues, including depression, illness, exhaustion and even shorter life spans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treating hearing loss with hearing aids enables you to hear, participate, and ensure you don\u2019t miss out on the people and activities that make you happy. It\u2019s as simple as that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n QUOTE:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cI\u2019m so glad I got hearing aids. It has truly been life changing!\u201d Lesley P., California<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" So you\u2019ve got a little hearing loss. What\u2019s the big deal, right? It happens to almost all of us as we age. FACT: 37.5 million Americans 18 and older have hearing loss, including one out of every three, 60 and older. You can cope, you\u2019ve decided. You\u2019ll just turn the TV up a little louder. Ask…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amarillohearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1578"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amarillohearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amarillohearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amarillohearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amarillohearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1578"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/amarillohearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1578\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amarillohearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amarillohearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amarillohearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Should you treat or ignore your hearing loss?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Ignore or treat hearing loss \u2014 a side-by-side comparison<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
(1) Mental Health<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Ignore hearing loss<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Treat hearing loss<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
(2) Physical Health<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Ignore hearing loss<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Treat hearing loss<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
(3) Income and Career<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Ignore hearing loss<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Treat hearing loss<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
(4) Personal Safety<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Ignore<\/strong> hearing loss<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Treat hearing loss<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
(5) Relationships and social interactions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Ignore hearing l<\/strong>oss<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Treat hearing loss<\/h4>\n\n\n\n