Hearing loss is a physical problem, but the body and mind are tightly linked. Many aspects of social and psychological health are connected to physical health, and hearing is no different. The connection between hearing loss and poor mental health is one way to think about this connection. Hearing is a crucial element of our mental activity, linking audible stimuli with ideas and emotions. You might be surprised with the vast array of mental conditions that are linked to the ability to hear the world around you, particularly the voices of friends, loved ones, associates, and in everyday casual encounters. However, on the positive side, treating hearing loss can have a strong positive effect on mental health, often in unanticipated ways.
Cognition
Strong links have been demonstrated between hearing loss and the onset or rate of cognitive impairment. The brain has to work overtime to connect language and sounds with meaningful ideas. When the sonic signals are incomplete, these links can become complicated, and neural pathways are affected. Linking words and sounds with ideas is only the starting point. Other cognitive dysgenesis has been linked to the struggle to hear. Treating hearing loss has the benefit of improving cognition and delaying the onset of serious cognitive disorders, such as dementia. Several types of dementia have been related with hearing loss and the struggle to communicate. Alleviating hearing loss is one way to stem the tide of cognitive dysfunction.
Anxiety
Hearing loss can be an anxiety-inducing disorder in a number of ways. The inability to hear is itself stressful, and many experience frustration and anxiety during events in which careful listening is required. Beyond the act of listening, other anxious stimuli may derive from hearing loss. The feeling that you have become a burden on family members may be a source of anxiety, as well as the feeling that you are letting them down in conversations. One of the strongest forms of anxiety stems from the stressful anticipation before event or situation that will require your hearing. Leading up to these events, some sufferers of hearing loss can even become too anxious to attend. Hearing loss treatment is a simple way to remove these sources of anxiety altogether. With proper treatment, situations that cause anxiety can be eliminated from your daily routine.
Depression
The other side of the coin of anxiety is depression. Those who realize that their hearing is deteriorating may feel defeated and like giving up. The social isolation that comes along with serious hearing impairment is yet another way that hearing loss can cause a number of other problems. When the stress of hearing at social events prompts someone to stay home, it can lead to depression, low energy, and negative thoughts about oneself. This process can become a revolving door wherein the inability to hear easily at events leads to depression, which leads to more reticence to socially engage. Even the inability to easily hear is a form of social isolation, as well. Those with hearing loss may miss the days when they could easily engage and communicate with their loved ones, and this sense of loss can be a sad reality to face. This is why depression and hearing loss have been connected in recent research. Treatment can lift the dark cloud that might have descended when hearing loss set in.
Solutions
The good news is that you don’t have to remain trapped with poor hearing in a situation that negatively affects mental health. On the contrary, there are solutions that can help! The first step is to consult with us at Hearing Spa in Florida about the options that are available.
Your hearing professional may first conduct a test of your ability to hear. After that test, you may be offered a range of assistive technologies to enhance your ability to communicate. Hearing aids are one way to reengage with the social world and to reduce the cognitive, anxious, and depressive symptoms that may be associated with poor hearing. By introducing assistive technology into your daily routine, mental health problems can be improved or eliminated.
The important thing is that you are willing to engage with the process, opening yourself up to the possibility that hearing impairment is related to mental health. Once a solution is in place, you only need to take part to experience a better life. Contact us at Hearing Spa to begin the process today.
