Putting off on important appointments, like your hearing aid fitting, is all too easy amongst the hustle and bustle of daily events. You might even find yourself hesitating to order hearing aids altogether. However, putting off on treatment for hearing loss is far more than just a mistake concerning your ears alone.
Untreated hearing loss can lead to a higher risk of mental decline
A clear connection between mental decline and untreated hearing loss has been demonstrated by scientists and researchers. This underscores the crucial importance of not holding off on treatment, as it can have negative effects on your mental function as well.
Hearing loss will get worse if it’s neglected
If you care about the health of your hearing, it’s important to never disregard any symptoms of hearing loss. By avoiding appointments with a hearing specialist or holding off on the purchase of hearing aids, you unintentionally subject your ears to further damage.
The advancement of your hearing loss will be quickened if you continuously need to crank up the volume on your devices. Hearing aids can increase particular frequencies of sound thereby delaying the progression of hearing loss.
The link between neglected hearing loss and mental function
Your brain and your hearing are intricately linked. Cognitive function can be seriously impacted by neglected hearing loss according to some significant research. Social solitude, frequently a consequence of weakened hearing, can result in mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, which in turn can worsen cognitive decline over time.
Also, the restoration of healthy hearing function can be complicated because neglected hearing loss will force the brain to adapt by reallocating mental resources from other functions, such as visual processes, over to auditory processes.
Navigating neuroplasticity
In this situation, neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to adapt, can be both a friend and a foe. The brain will have a difficult time reverting back to its previous state after it rewires itself to accommodate for prolonged neglected hearing loss.
But it is possible to undo this effect. In both the short and the long term, utilizing hearing aids can bring significant benefits even if you’ve put off on getting treatment for some time.
Call us for an appointment
You should obviously find treatment as soon as possible, but even if you’ve put off for a while, it’s not too late to get help. If you’re ready to enjoy better hearing and stronger cognitive function, call us today for an assessment!