Amidst hectic schedules and the distractions of events, it’s all too easy to put off essential appointments, such as those with a hearing specialist or for a hearing aid fitting. You might even find yourself hesitating to order hearing aids altogether. However, delaying treatment for hearing loss is far more than just a misstep concerning your ears alone.
The connection to cognitive decline
A clear connection between mental decline and untreated hearing loss has been established by scientists and researchers. This underscores the crucial importance of not holding off on treatment, as it can have adverse effects on your mental function too.
Hearing loss will get worse if it goes untreated
If you care about the health of your hearing, it’s essential 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 might find yourself continually increasing the volume on your various devices, worsening the damage to your ears and speeding up the development of hearing loss. Hearing aids can increase particular frequencies of sound thereby slowing down the progression of hearing loss.
The connection between neglected hearing loss and mental function
There’s a direct link between your sense of hearing and your brain. Mental function can be seriously impacted by untreated hearing loss according to some significant research. Social solitude, frequently a consequence of diminished hearing, can lead to mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, which in turn can exacerbate mental decline over time.
Moreover, long-term neglected hearing loss prompts the brain to adapt by reallocating resources from processing sound to other functions, such as visual processing, potentially complicating the restoration of healthy hearing function later on.
Navigating neuroplasticity
In this scenario, neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to adapt, can be both a friend and a foe. The brain will have a hard time reverting back to its previous state after it rewires itself to accommodate for extended untreated hearing loss.
However, it isn’t impossible to reverse these effects. Despite previous delays in seeking treatment, using hearing aids as prescribed by a specialist can still deliver substantial benefits in both the short and long term.
Call us for an appointment
You should obviously seek treatment as soon as you can, but even if you’ve delayed for a while, it’s not too late to seek help. Scheduling an appointment with us as soon as you can is essential, ensuring you can enjoy improved hearing and cognitive function moving forward. Call today!