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 might even find yourself hesitating to order hearing aids altogether. But hearing loss affects more than just your ears and holding off on treatment can have negative effects on your whole life.
Neglected hearing loss can lead to a higher risk of mental decline
Scientists have proven a clear link between neglected hearing loss and mental decline. This is one reason why delaying treatment is never a good plan.
Hearing loss will worsen if it goes untreated
Obviously, it’s evident that delaying treatment for hearing loss isn’t helpful for maintaining your auditory health. By avoiding appointments with a hearing specialist or delaying the purchase of hearing aids, you inadvertently subject your ears to further damage.
The progression of your hearing loss will be quickened if you continuously need to crank up the volume on your devices. Hearing aids can amplify particular frequencies of sound thereby slowing down the progression of hearing loss.
The link between neglected hearing loss and cognitive function
There’s a close link between your sense of hearing and your brain. Mental function can be seriously impacted by untreated hearing loss according to some significant research. Over time, mental decline can be exacerbated by depression and anxiety caused by social separation.
Also, the restoration of normal hearing function can be complicated because neglected hearing loss will force the brain to adjust 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. While it allows for flexibility and restoration, prolonged neglected hearing loss can lead to considerable rewiring of the brain, making it challenging to return to previous functionality.
But it is possible to reverse this effect. In both the short and the long term, utilizing hearing aids can bring significant benefits even if you’ve held off on getting treatment for some time.
Give us a call 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. Making an appointment with us as soon as you can is crucial, ensuring you can enjoy improved hearing and mental function moving forward. Call today!