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 may even find yourself hesitating to order hearing aids altogether. But hearing loss affects more than just your ears and delaying treatment can have negative effects on your entire life.
Untreated hearing loss can lead to a higher risk of mental decline
Scientists have proven a clear connection between untreated hearing loss and mental decline. This is one reason why delaying treatment is never a good plan.
The impact on hearing
If you care about the health of your hearing, it’s important to never neglect any symptoms of hearing loss. You unintentionally cause more harm to your hearing if you delay getting a hearing examination or hearing aids if you need them.
You may 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 increase particular frequencies of sound thereby slowing down the advancement of hearing loss.
The connection to mental function
Your brain and your hearing are intricately linked. Research indicates that untreated hearing loss can have substantial repercussions on mental function. Over time, mental decline can be worsened by depression and anxiety caused by social separation.
Also, the recovery of normal hearing function can be complicated because untreated 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
The brain’s remarkable ability to adapt, known as neuroplasticity, is both a friend and a foe in this situation. While it allows for flexibility and recovery, prolonged untreated hearing loss can result in significant rewiring of the brain, making it difficult to revert to previous functionality.
But it is possible to reverse this effect. In spite of previous delays in seeking treatment, utilizing hearing aids as prescribed by a specialist can still yield significant benefits in both the short and long term.
Set up an appointment with a hearing specialist
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 get help. Scheduling an appointment with us as soon as you can is crucial, ensuring you can enjoy improved hearing and cognitive function going forward. Call today!