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The new year is a great time to prioritize your health. Setting realistic and achievable health goals during this fresh start is exciting. A simple way you can commit to your health is by scheduling an appointment for a hearing test. Hearing is an important facet of health that is connected to your overall health and wellness. Yet, hearing loss is a pervasive health issue that people live with today. It is the third most common chronic medical condition people experience, impacting over 48 million people. So the new year is a wonderful invitation to prioritize your hearing health!
What is Hearing Loss?
Hearing loss is a medical condition that reduces capacity to hear and process speech as well as sound. Several factors can contribute to the development of hearing loss including: exposure to loud noise, aging, medical conditions, head injuries, chronic ear infections, and inner ear disorders. Hearing loss most often occurs as a result of sensory cells in the inner being damaged. These sensory cells play a major role in how sound is processed. They receive incoming soundwaves and convert them into electrical signals which get carried to the brain. The brain is then able to continue processing these signals and assign meaning to them which allows us to understand what we hear. When sensory cells are damaged, this process is disrupted and the brain receives less auditory information which produces hearing loss.
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders estimates that nearly 25% of people ages 65 to 74, and 50% of people who are 75 and older, have disabling hearing loss. But only one third of people who could benefit from treatment receive it. This highlights how undertreated hearing loss is. Untreated hearing loss can worsen symptoms and impairment as well as the significant effects it can have on everyday life – strained communication, relationships, social life, and increased health risks. It is important to integrate a hearing test in yearly health screening so you can track your hearing health and intervene early if you experience changes over time.
Benefits of Treating Hearing Loss
There are effective ways hearing loss is treated, offering life-changing benefits. The most common treatment is hearing aids, electronic devices that provide the ears and brain with ample support processing sound. Treatment transforms health and quality of life by:
- Strengthening communication: hearing aids alleviate symptoms and maximize hearing capacity. This allows people to have conversations more easily and comfortably. People are better able to readily hear and respond to others and fully participate which strengthens communication.
- Improving relationships: strengthened communication also improves relationships. People often report feeling unheard or ignored by their loved one with untreated hearing loss. This produces frustration and distance, straining relationships. Treatment alleviates this by enabling people to fully engage in conversations. Hearing aids provide ample support that enables workers to spend quality time with loved ones and have uncumbersome conversations which improves relationships.
- Enriching social life: treatment also allows people to stay socially connected and engaged. Hearing aids help minimize background noise and deliver enhanced sound quality which is especially useful in environments that are more active, like social settings. This helps people navigate conversations, activities, and settings which allows for greater social interaction and engagement.
- Enhancing health: treating hearing loss also reduces health risks that are associated with untreated symptoms. Treatment boosts brain health and strengthens cognitive functions, increases spatial awareness and safety, as well as enhances mental health by improving relationships and social life.
These benefits can enrich your everyday life and health. Treating health loss supports people living active lives that they can fully participate in.
Prioritize Your Hearing Health with Better Hearing Center
This new year is a great invitation to prioritize your hearing health. You can do this by scheduling a hearing test for the new year. Conducted by a hearing healthcare specialist, hearing tests are painless and noninvasive. This comprehensive evaluation of your hearing health involves a process that measures your hearing capacities and establishes your hearing needs. Contact us today to schedule an appointment for a hearing consultation. We look forward to supporting your hearing health and wellness in the new year!