When the Costs of Hearing Loss Outweighs Its Treatment

Our sense of hearing makes our lives richer. Hearing connects us to the world around us: conversations with loved ones, music, and the sounds of nature when we’re outdoors. Undoubtedly, the onset of hearing loss drastically changes how we interact with the world around us.

Approximately 20% of Americans experience some degree of hearing loss. Hearing loss is not identified as quickly as it should be. It is estimated that people wait an average of seven years before seeking treatment for hearing loss.

The cost of treatment is one major reason deterring people from treating hearing loss. Though hearing aids are not covered by insurance or Medicare, the use of hearing aids does drastically improve one’s life and well-being. Hearing aids are an excellent investment. We’ll weigh the cost of leaving hearing loss untreated – and how hearing aids bring much benefit to your life.

Benefits to Employment

Studies have found that there is a difference in earning power between those who treat hearing loss with hearing aids, and those who leave their hearing loss untreated. Hearing loss interferes with speech recognition and tends to cause frustration, heightened levels of stress and anxiety, as well as depression. These could all interfere with your productivity in the workplace.

In the US, 60% of the workforce experiences some degree of hearing loss. Treating hearing loss with hearing aids will undoubtedly help you on the job, as you interact with your colleagues and ensure your productivity.

Benefits to Interpersonal Relationships

The foundation of every healthy relationship is communication. Untreated hearing loss greatly affects your ability to communicate with your friends and loved ones. Speech recognition becomes a major challenge with hearing loss. Certain configurations of hearing loss make it difficult for you hear voices of high frequencies (women and children). Many who experience hearing loss complain that while they are able to hear, they do not understand.

People who experience hearing loss tend to ask others to repeat themselves. Misunderstanding what is being said could lead to friction or conflict. Over time, leaving hearing loss untreated leads to avoidance of social interaction. This could break down relationships.

The use of hearing aids empowers you to interact confidently with your loved ones. Conversations will be much clearer, whether at home or at a loud restaurant. And, they help to preserve your dearest relationships.

Benefits to Your Health

Recent studies from Johns Hopkins have found potential links between untreated hearing loss and an increased risk of dementia. With hearing loss, the brain struggles to make sense of muddled audio signals and thus expends much energy on filling in the gaps. This could lead to a heavier cognitive load, which may contribute to a risk for dementia. Hearing aids provide clearer signals to the brain, reducing the cognitive load.

Johns Hopkins researchers found that study participants who used hearing aids to treat hearing loss had better cognitive function than counterparts who did not treat their hearing loss. In the long run, this could support brain function and potentially reduce the risk of dementia.

Benefits to Physical Well-Being

Studies have found that people with untreated hearing loss are hospitalized at a higher rate than those who use hearing aids. Our sense of hearing is linked with our sense of balance. Untreated hearing loss may lead to balance issues. At the same time, hearing is one of the ways we locate ourselves in our environment.

With untreated hearing loss, we are much more vulnerable in any situation. We may not hear the honk of a vehicle warning us not to cross the street, or the fire alarm going off downstairs in the kitchen of our home.

The use of hearing aids to treat hearing loss ensures our safety and security, whether at home or out in the world. Hearing aids capture sounds from our environment, in order to keep us grounded and aware of whatever environments we find ourselves in.

OC Physicians’ Hearing Services

Locations in Mission Viejo, Irvine, San Clemente, Laguna Beach and Laguna Hills

Call us to schedule: 949- 364-4361