Putting off on essential appointments, like your hearing aid fitting, is all too easy amongst the hustle and bustle of day-to-day events. You may not even get around to shopping for hearing aids whatsoever. But hearing loss affects more than just your ears and holding off on treatment can have negative effects on your entire life.
Untreated hearing loss can result in a greater risk of mental decline
A clear connection between cognitive decline and neglected hearing loss has been demonstrated 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 as well.
The impact on hearing
Naturally, it’s evident that putting off treatment for hearing loss isn’t conducive to preserving your auditory health. You unintentionally cause more harm to your hearing if you delay getting a hearing test or hearing aids if you need them.
The development of your hearing loss will be accelerated if you continuously need to crank up the volume on your devices. Using a hearing aid can help mitigate this by selectively amplifying particular frequencies, thereby delaying the advancement of hearing loss.
The link between untreated hearing loss and mental function
There’s a close connection between your sense of hearing and your brain. Cognitive function can be severely impacted by untreated hearing loss according to some substantial research. Social isolation, frequently a consequence of diminished hearing, can result in mental health issues including 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 recovery of healthy hearing function down the road.
Navigating neuroplasticity
The brain’s remarkable ability to adapt, known as neuroplasticity, is both a friend and a foe in this scenario. While it allows for flexibility and recovery, prolonged untreated hearing loss can result in considerable rewiring of the brain, making it difficult to return to previous functionality.
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
While quick treatment is ideal, it’s never too late to address hearing loss. Scheduling an appointment with us as soon as you can is crucial, ensuring you can enjoy improved hearing and mental function moving forward. Call today!