Loss of hearing affects your quality of life: Fact. Studies show that untreated hearing loss not only contributes to physical problems but can also lead to depression, anxiety and emotional instability. A study by John Hopkins Medicine highlights this – head researcher, Professor Lin says: “Hearing loss may have a profoundly detrimental effect on older people’s physical and mental well-being, and even health care resources.”
So, yes hearing is of paramount importance to our health and shouldn’t be underestimated. If you are suffering from hearing loss, address the problem – take a look at these suggestions on keeping yourself healthy. But first things first, get a hearing health check asap – Hearing tests are available all over the country and you can even arrange to have yours done at home, hearing aids are no longer what they were and they get better and better all the time.
Interaction can become tiring because the brain has to work harder to process information. This can lead to bouts of anger, frustration and a lack of confidence.
How to help:
Make sure you tell the person you are talking to that you are finding it difficult to keep up, ask the to slow down until you are ready to move on.
Don’t Become Isolated
Going out in busy places or meeting friends at restaurants can become daunting because you can’t hear properly. This compounds the problem as you become isolated, creating a very sad cycle that becomes never ending, resulting in you staying at home, not socialising, exercising or keeping fit, which we all need to do for our body and mind.
What to do:
Make sure you tell your family and friends how you are feeling, let them help. There are many support groups out there who know how you will be feeling so see if you can get in touch with a local one.
All the above are contributing factors in depression and it’s easy to see why – low self esteem, and a lack of confidence creep in. A study conducted in America showed that ‘significantly more of the seniors with untreated hearing loss (those who do not wear hearing aids) reported feelings of sadness or depression.’
How to help:
Don’t hide how you are feeling, your family and friends can help support you and seek help from your GP.
Your brain needs to hear to keep working properly, loss of hearing means that certain parts of your brain slow down.
How to Help
The more you use your brain, the longer it will keep working efficiently. Listening to music can help to exercise your brain in so many ways. It’s relaxing and can be done anywhere, even when walking the dog or on a jog. There are special music programmes especially designed for a brain workout or you can just listen to your own collection – old music to stimulate memories, new music to get your brain anticipating.
Something as simple as having a hearing aid fitted will help with all of these issues, so why not book yourself a test and keep your brain and body working at it’s best.