Putting off on important 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 impacts more than only your ears and holding off on treatment can have detrimental effects on your entire life.
The link to mental decline
A clear connection between cognitive decline and untreated hearing loss has been demonstrated by scientists and researchers. This underscores the crucial importance of not delaying treatment, as it can have negative effects on your mental function as well.
The impact on hearing
Obviously, it’s evident that putting off treatment for hearing loss isn’t conducive to maintaining your auditory health. By avoiding appointments with a hearing specialist or delaying the purchase of hearing aids, you unintentionally subject your ears to additional damage.
The progression of your hearing loss will be accelerated if you continuously need to crank up the volume on your devices. Wearing a hearing aid can help alleviate this by selectively amplifying particular frequencies, thereby slowing down the progression of hearing loss.
The link between untreated hearing loss and mental function
There’s a direct connection between your sense of hearing and your brain. Cognitive function can be seriously impacted by neglected hearing loss according to some significant research. Over time, mental decline can be exacerbated by depression and anxiety brought on by social separation.
Moreover, long-term untreated hearing loss prompts the brain to adapt by reallocating resources from auditory processing to other functions, such as visual processing, potentially complicating the recovery of healthy hearing function later on.
Navigating neuroplasticity
The brain’s amazing ability to adapt, known as neuroplasticity, is both a friend and a foe in this scenario. While it allows for flexibility and restoration, extended neglected hearing loss can result in significant rewiring of the brain, making it challenging to revert to previous functionality.
But it is possible to undo this effect. In both the short and the long term, using hearing aids can bring considerable benefits even if you’ve held off on getting treatment for some time.
Give us a call for an appointment
You should obviously find treatment as soon as you can, but even if you’ve put off for a while, it’s not too late to seek help. Making an appointment with us as soon as you can is important, ensuring you can enjoy improved hearing and cognitive function going forward. Call today!