Untreated Hearing Loss can impact your Health

Untreated Hearing Loss can impact your Health

Do you think that hearing impairment only affects the elderly? Of the 10 million people in the UK who are living with hearing loss, an estimated 3.7 million are in the age group of 16-64 years. As the noise levels in our day-to-day environment increases, this figure is only going to increase. Here’s how untreated hearing loss can impact your overall health.

Hearing Loss

Our ears contain several thousands of tiny hair cells that transmit sound waves to the inner ear, thus enabling us to hear. These cells are delicate and long-term exposure to high decibel noises can damage them. This damage is irreversible, leading to gradual hearing impairment. Since the process is so slow, most people do not even realise that they have a hearing problem till it’s too late. Even after acknowledging hearing loss, many people still do not seek help, which further deteriorates the hearing.

Health Advisory

Early signs of hearing loss could be anything from a slight ringing in the ears (tinnitus) to difficulty in following conversation or the need to turn up the volume on the television set. Over time hearing loss can also lead to a loss in speech comprehension. e.g. the ‘t’ sound may not longer register for you, and you hear ‘cat’ as ‘cap’. Once you start losing this ability to comprehend sounds, it’s gone forever. Many studies have also showed a link between hearing loss and early onset dementia. It’s not just your physical health that gets impacted but hearing loss also affects your mental health. Many hearing impaired people simply withdraw from social situations – going to church, attending a party, going to the pub – as they cannot hear very well and therefore do not enjoy the experience. Navigating public spaces such as crowded shopping malls or bus and train stations also becomes difficult, as does the simple act of crossing the road. Avoiding social situations leads to feelings of frustration and isolation. Many hearing impaired people also struggle with depression and anxiety.

Hear Better, Feel Better

Hearing loss may be permanent, but you can certainly manage the situation by wearing hearing aids. Get a free hearing assessment carried out at your neighbourhood Leightons Opticians and Hearing Care branch. Our friendly & professionally trained audiologists will put you at ease and carry out a complete lifestyle evaluation along with the assessment.

We use advanced audiometric techniques to generate an audiogram that will give an idea about the extent of your hearing loss. Based on the audiogram, your audiologist will help you select from our wide range of digital hearing aids; we have some of the world’s best hearing aid brands in store, such as ReSound, Oticon, Phonak, Widex & Siemens. You can also get a free hearing aid demonstration, which will help you understand how your hearing will improve after using our digital hearing aids. We offer warranties on all our hearing aids and batteries, so you can be rest assured of good quality and continued service. Don’t ignore hearing loss; call us on 0800 40 20 20 or book an appointment online with Leightons Opticians and Hearing Care today.