Now that Spring is well underway, we can enjoy the flowers and the fresh warmth of the sun. We may be getting out more, spending time outside, and connecting to friends we haven’t seen in a long time. With increased social interactions you may notice that your hearing is not as sharp as it once seemed. You may have to ask people to repeat themselves regularly and struggle to make plans over the phone. The good news is that this May is Hearing & Speech Month (BHSM) a national campaign led by ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association). The goal of BHSM is to raise awareness around hearing loss and other communication issues as well as promote the importance of seeking treatment. With spring hereafter over two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the theme could not be more apt. 2022 is “Connecting People.”
The Progression of Hearing Loss
It’s estimated that 1 in 8 people in the US has hearing loss equaling around 30 million people, 12 years or older. Previously regarded widely as a condition that affects the elderly, we now know that hearing loss affects people at any age due to a wide range of causes including exposure to loud noise, impact to the head, infection, exposure to airborne chemicals, certain medications, or changes to the ear as we age. While many of us understand that it’s important to address a hearing loss, the problem lies in that it is often difficult to self-diagnose. People often live years without realizing they have an issue due to the often-gradual progression hearings loss takes. At first parts of words or sentences (certain tones or pitches) go missing. This makes it difficult to follow the conversation on a day-to-day basis whether at work, at home, or even during a tiny interaction.
Hearing Loss, Social Interaction, and Cognitive Decline
Constant strain to hear puts a lot of stress on the brain and can cause people to be more exhausted than previously expected by social interactions. For people who may have self-identified as a social person, it is common to witness social withdrawal in its place, and with this withdrawal usually comes chronic depression and anxiety. Humans by nature are social creatures who are energized, stimulated, and challenged by social interaction. Staying social keeps our brains sharp as we age. This is why hearing loss is believed to increase the risk of cognitive decline leading to Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia significantly. It’s been recorded that even people with a slight, barely recordable hearing loss, score consistently lower on cognitive functioning tests in comparison to those with normal hearing. A prominent Johns Hopkins Study led by Dr. Frank Lin found that a mild case of hearing loss doubled the risk of hearing loss, while a moderate case triple the risk and a severe case increased the risk five-fold!
Signs of Hearing Loss
You may be living with some degree of hearing loss and not even know it. However, this doesn’t mean it’s not already affecting how you connect to people and how you relate to the world daily. The sooner you can diagnose a hearing loss, the sooner you stop growing strains on your everyday relationships. Some of the most common signs of hearing loss include:
- Speech and other sounds seem muffled or obscured.
- Certain words may be difficult to hear especially in noisy and crowded settings.
- Consonants may such as “s” “f” and “h” may be harder to hear due to their higher frequency.
- You may find you have to frequently asked to repeat themselves or speak more slowly, clearly, and loudly
- You need the TV turned up higher while others in your life complain.
- You find yourself withdrawing from conversations and social situations that you used to enjoy.
Treating Hearing Loss
With BSHM it’s a reminder to take that slight suspicion of a hearing loss seriously and act upon it now. While hearing loss in most cases is irreversible it can be treated effectively with the use of hearing aids. Amazing digital hearing aids can now be programmed to pick up only the frequencies and tones which you struggle with creating a clear and organic amplification that allows you to connect to all the people in your life. To find out more schedule a hearing exam today.