Putting off on essential appointments, like your hearing aid fitting, is all too easy amidst the hustle and bustle of daily events. You might not even get around to shopping for hearing aids whatsoever. But hearing loss affects more than only your ears and delaying treatment can have detrimental effects on your whole life.
The connection to cognitive decline
Scientists have proven a clear link between neglected hearing loss and mental decline. This underscores the critical importance of not holding off on treatment, as it can have adverse effects on your mental function also.
Hearing loss will get worse if it’s neglected
If you care about your hearing health, it’s essential to never ignore any symptoms of hearing loss. You unintentionally cause more harm to your hearing if you put off on getting a hearing test or hearing aids if you need them.
You might find yourself constantly increasing the volume on your various devices, exacerbating the damage to your ears and accelerating the progression of hearing loss. Hearing aids can boost particular frequencies of sound thereby delaying the development of hearing loss.
The link between untreated hearing loss and cognitive function
Your brain and your hearing are closely linked. Mental function can be severely impacted by neglected hearing loss according to some substantial research. Over time, mental decline can be exacerbated by depression and anxiety caused by social isolation.
Furthermore, prolonged neglected hearing loss causes the brain to adapt by reallocating resources from auditory processing to other functions, such as visual processing, potentially complicating the restoration of normal hearing function down the road.
Navigating neuroplasticity
The brain’s phenomenal ability to adapt, known as neuroplasticity, is both a friend and a foe in this scenario. The brain will have a difficult time reverting back to its previous state after it rewires itself to accommodate for sustained neglected hearing loss.
However, it’s not impossible to undo these effects. 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 possible, but even if you’ve delayed for a while, it’s not too late to seek help. If you’re ready to enjoy better hearing and stronger cognitive function, call us today for an assessment!