Just like you go to your primary care provider, your dentist and your eye doctor regularly, you should also prioritize seeing an audiologist for a hearing screening regularly. It’s probably obvious that hearing tests support your hearing health, but hearing health has been linked to many aspects of overall wellness.
The Effects of Untreated Hearing Loss
Hearing loss has been correlated to a variety of other health conditions, such as:
- Balance issues
- Increased fall risk
- Social isolation
- Increased rates of depression and anxiety
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Diabetes
- Cardiovascular issues
- Increased stroke risk
- Decreased independence
If left untreated, hearing loss’s effects on these other conditions will be even greater. That’s why it’s important to catch hearing loss early and begin a hearing loss treatment plan.
Catching Changes in Hearing
Of adults who could benefit from hearing aids, it’s estimated that fewer than 30% have ever used them. There are many reasons for this low number, but one possibility is that a person hasn’t noticed a change in their hearing. Hearing loss, especially age-related hearing loss, develops gradually as the cells in our ears naturally deteriorate. Because it’s so gradual, your brain adapts to the loss and fills in the gaps on its own. It does this imperfectly, of course, but just well enough that you aren’t cognizant of the gaps.
Regular hearing screenings, then, are extraordinarily useful in noticing changes in your hearing before you do. Or perhaps you’ve noticed symptoms of hearing loss, but it had developed further than you realized. Screenings can catch that, too.
Ear Health Is More Than Just Hearing
A hearing test can also find other conditions that might be affecting the ear. For example, our senses of hearing and balance are closely connected, as they’re both housed in the inner ear. Perhaps you’ve scheduled a hearing screening for symptoms of hearing loss, and it’s at that appointment that you learn that the balance issues you thought were unrelated were actually symptoms of Ménière’s disease.
Hearing tests may also help find other ear conditions, such as structural abnormalities, benign growths or tumors. Certain types of hearing loss could indicate cardiovascular disease or inner ear infections. Hearing health is, ultimately, a critical part of overall wellness.
Schedule Your Hearing Screening
If it’s been a while since your last hearing test (or if you haven’t had one at all), there’s no time like the present to take this proactive step in your hearing health and wellness. Contact Kampsen Hearing today to schedule an appointment for a hearing screening.