The Importance of Proactive Hearing Care
WALNUT CREEK — Hearing loss is sometimes called the “invisible condition” because most people who experience it aren’t aware they have a problem. This is because hearing loss sets in very gradually, which makes it easy to miss until the symptoms are considerable. Due to the surreptitious character of hearing loss, proactive testing and treatment are critical to avoid the potential consequences.
Over the last few decades, audiologists have learned a great deal about the connection between hearing and mental health. Many years ago, when a patient was diagnosed with hearing loss, he was fitted with a device on one ear, even if hearing loss had taken place in both ears. Over time, audiologists found that hearing in the ear with the device changed very little; it didn’t continue to decrease as it had previously. However, hearing in the ear that didn’t have a device was typically found to have decreased between 20 and 60 percent. The difference was the ear with the device was receiving stimulation every day—like a muscle, it was being worked out, whereas the ear without the device wasn’t being stimulated and thus continued to decline. This demonstrated that hearing holds to the same “use it or lose it” law as muscles and other aspects of the body do.
Audiologists have also learned that the longer someone waits to address their hearing loss, the harder it is to treat. On average, the length of time between when a person starts noticing the symptoms of hearing loss and actually gets tested is five to seven years. Hearing can decline a great deal in that span of time, and it’s a long interval to miss out on the quality of life that good hearing affords.
What’s more, research has found a direct link between hearing loss and conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s. For example, in 2013, Dr. Frank Lin at Johns Hopkins University found that people with hearing loss are 40 percent more likely to develop dementia. In contrast, treating hearing loss has been shown in some cases to reverse the symptoms of such conditions. In my years as an audiologist, I can’t tell you how many patients I’ve seen who were informally diagnosed as having dementia or Alzheimer’s and made an astoundingly rapid recovery after being fitted with a hearing device.
Hearing loss is hard to detect and easy to dismiss, but it can debilitate a person’s ability to interact with others, so it’s important to take action sooner rather than later. The longer you put it off, the more your hearing can deteriorate, so schedule an appointment to have your hearing tested as soon as possible.
