Putting off on important appointments, like your hearing aid fitting, is all too easy amidst the hustle and bustle of day-to-day events. You might even find yourself hesitating to order hearing aids altogether. However, delaying treatment for hearing loss is a lot more than just a misstep concerning your ears alone.
The connection to mental decline
A clear link between cognitive decline and untreated hearing loss has been demonstrated by scientists and researchers. This is one reason why delaying treatment is never a good plan.
The impact on hearing
Naturally, it’s evident that putting off treatment for hearing loss isn’t conducive to preserving your auditory health. You inadvertently cause more damage to your hearing if you put off on getting a hearing exam or hearing aids if you need them.
You might find yourself continually increasing the volume on your various devices, worsening the damage to your ears and accelerating the progression of hearing loss. Hearing aids can boost specific frequencies of sound thereby slowing down the advancement of hearing loss.
The link between untreated hearing loss and cognitive function
Your brain and your hearing are intricately linked. Mental function can be severely impacted by neglected hearing loss according to some significant research. Social isolation, frequently a consequence of weakened hearing, can result in mental health problems including depression and anxiety, which in turn can exacerbate mental decline over time.
Furthermore, long-term neglected hearing loss prompts the brain to adapt by reallocating resources from processing sound to other functions, such as visual processing, potentially complicating the recovery of healthy hearing function down the road.
Navigating neuroplasticity
The brain’s amazing ability to adapt, known as neuroplasticity, is both a friend and a foe in this situation. While it allows for flexibility and recovery, sustained neglected hearing loss can lead to significant rewiring of the brain, making it challenging to revert to previous functionality.
However, it isn’t impossible to undo these effects. In spite of previous delays in getting treatment, utilizing hearing aids as prescribed by a specialist can still provide significant benefits in both the short and long term.
Call us 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 get help. Making an appointment with us as soon as possible is crucial, ensuring you can enjoy improved hearing and cognitive function moving forward. Call today!