Putting off on important appointments, like your hearing aid fitting, is all too easy amongst the hustle and bustle of daily events. You might not even get around to shopping for hearing aids whatsoever. However, putting off on treatment for hearing loss is far more than just a mistake concerning your ears alone.
The link to cognitive decline
Scientists have established a clear connection between neglected hearing loss and cognitive decline. This underscores the crucial importance of not delaying treatment, as it can have negative effects on your brain function as well.
Hearing loss will worsen if it goes untreated
If you care about the health of your hearing, it’s essential to never neglect any symptoms of hearing loss. You unintentionally cause more harm to your hearing if you put off on getting a hearing exam or hearing aids if you need them.
The advancement of your hearing loss will be quickened if you continuously need to crank up the volume on your devices. Hearing aids can amplify specific frequencies of sound thereby delaying the progression of hearing loss.
The connection to cognitive function
There’s a direct connection between your sense of hearing and your brain. Research indicates that neglected hearing loss can have considerable repercussions on cognitive function. Over time, mental decline can be worsened by depression and anxiety caused by social separation.
Moreover, long-term untreated hearing loss causes the brain to adapt by reallocating resources from auditory processing to other functions, such as visual processing, potentially complicating the recovery of normal hearing function down the road.
Navigating neuroplasticity
In this scenario, neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to adapt, can be both a friend and a foe. The brain will have a difficult time reverting back to its previous state after it rewires itself to accommodate for sustained neglected hearing loss.
But it is possible to reverse this effect. Despite 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.
Give us a call for an appointment
You should obviously seek treatment as soon as you can, but even if you’ve put off for a while, it’s not too late to seek help. Scheduling an appointment with us as soon as you can is crucial, ensuring you can enjoy improved hearing and mental function going forward. Call today!
