To help support hearing health denotes giving support to mental well being, as audiology studies have shown that hearing loss has a strong impact on mental health. While hearing loss is generally normal for aging people, it’s widely believed that certain lifestyle choices during younger years could have caused cochlear weakness. Such a condition increased the risks of having hearing problems upon reaching old age.
Time and again, today’s younger generations are reminded about the importance of protecting the hearing organs as they are vital to the functions of other senses. More importantly, hearing loss can affect mental health in several ways.
Impact of Hearing Loss on Mental Well Being
Losing your ability to join and follow conversations when everyone you get to talk to seems to be mumbling out loud is definitely a cause for frustration. While you may be in denial of having a hearing loss problem, the effects of such inability will eventually catch up with you in terms of emotional struggles.
Once you realize that you’ve been asking people to repeat what they just said, your hearing inability could make you want to stop participating in social interactions as a result of the following mental health struggles:
Depression Over Feelings of Self-Worth
.
Individuals suffering from hearing loss are likely to have doubts about their self-worth. If so, it could lead to depression since the inability to naturally hear sounds can also affect your ability to move around and about independently. Such a restriction, especially during old age can make you feel depressed when left alone and on your own, since it can trigger feelings of isolation.
Anxiety Over Worsening Health Condition
Studies of people suffering from hearing loss revealed tendencies to worry deeply about the possibility that their hearing disorder could lead to something more serious.
Despite the availability of hearing aids and dietary supplements that can provide support in improving cochlear health, people suffering from hearing loss anxiety still worry about the efficiency of such medical remedies.
As a result, feelings of anxiety can cause you to doubt your own ability to communicate even while wearing a pair of hearing aids.
Depression and Heightened Feelings of Anxiety Combined
Depression in older adults who have lost interest in social interactions, combined with deep feelings of anxiety over their health condition, can speed up cognitive decline; and possibly, increase risks of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. An impaired thinking ability combined with inability to hear sounds are conditions that do not encourage older people to improve their present condition.
Not unless proper mental health support, provision of appropriate hearing devices and cochlear health supplements are provided by a primary health care doctor, family members and caregivers.