There are a number of potential causes of fatigue, everything from being unable to sleep at night to respiratory problems like sleep apnea. But there is something more common that can also cause fatigue and that’s hearing loss.
To some extent, that’s because hearing loss can be a slow-moving, subtle condition. You may find yourself constantly fatigued for no apparent reason because you failed to detect the symptoms of early hearing loss. This can be a frustrating experience. This exhaustion can often turn into irritability which could cause you to socially isolate yourself. The good news is that treating your hearing loss will frequently boost your energy levels, mitigating tiredness and exhaustion.
Your brain will compensate for gradually progressing hearing loss
For the majority of individuals, hearing loss is a very gradually-progressing condition that grows worse over time. You might not even realize that you have a hearing loss at first. Even prevalent symptoms, like cranking the volume up on your TV and smartphone, can be easy to miss if you’re not watching for them.
One of the harder to miss symptoms of hearing loss is often fatigue. You may feel tired no matter how much rest you got the night before. Unfortunately, many individuals don’t intuitively link this symptom with hearing loss.
Because the cause occurs in your brain, the symptoms aren’t usually considered an ear issue. When your ears aren’t receiving as much information, your brain works overtime to make sense of it all. In the same way as prolonged periods of intense concentration can leave you tired, the additional brain power needed to hear what individuals are saying can be exhausting. Left untreated, this fatigue can grow worse over time, affecting your quality of life and your ability to perform daily routine activities.
The role of stigma
So when individuals start to feel fatigue, why wouldn’t they simply visit a hearing specialist? There are many explanations: frequently individuals are busy or thinking about other things. But the notion of stigma is another reason which can be even more detrimental. There’s a feeling that hearing loss is bad or ruins your life or that there’s nothing that can be done about it. People will often avoid seeking treatment because of these false ideas.
However, as more individuals are open about their hearing loss experience, the stigma has begun to disappear. Many people understand that hearing loss is not some kind of social failing, and the very small nature of modern hearing aids makes them easy to hide around people who unfortunately will not let go of this stigma.
Regrettably, this perception of social stigma can cause people in the early stages of hearing loss to avoid getting the treatment they need leading to more severe permanent hearing loss.
How to deal with hearing loss-associated fatigue
The earliest stages of hearing loss might not have any noticeable symptoms. That makes it challenging to effectively take a reactive approach, and it’s why many hearing specialists favor preventative approaches. For instance, scheduling routine screenings with a hearing specialist before you detect symptoms can help establish a baseline of what your healthy hearing looks like. Early treatment will be a lot more effective after we have determined that baseline.
You can minimize hearing loss associated exhaustion by taking a few proactive steps. Some of the easiest and most common steps include the following:
- Give yourself a break in between conversations: Give yourself some quiet time to rest and recharge in between conversations. Your brain is working overtime to take part in conversation and brief rests will make that more sustainable.
- Try to find more quiet, secluded spots for conversations: Sorting out voices from background noise can be challenging when you have hearing loss (often whether you’re wearing hearing aids or not). It will be easier, and less exhausting, to understand conversations if you move them to a quieter spot.
- If you have hearing aids, wear them as frequently as you can: Hearing aids are manufactured to help you focus on the sounds of human speech, meaning conversation will be significantly easier to understand when you are hearing them. This means you won’t be as fatigued because your brain won’t have to work so hard.
- See a hearing specialist: Keeping an eye on the condition of your hearing is important. Consulting a hearing specialist can help you detect hearing loss in its early stages when it’s less of an issue and your brain doesn’t need to work as hard to compensate.
It’s probably time to make an appointment with a hearing specialist if you’re experiencing fatigue with no evident cause. Treating hearing loss can help you minimize your exhaustion and boost your energy. Don’t neglect your hearing loss because you’re concerned about the stigma.