Not Seeking Treatment for Hearing Loss Leads to Depression, Dementia

Hearing loss is an impairment that could have psychological consequences on the sufferers. By not seeking treatment for their condition, patients might negatively affect their quality of life.

At the 2015 American Psychological Association Convention, held in Toronto, Canada, the findings of the study were displayed.

David Myers, psychological professor at Hope College, Michigan, who suffers from hearing loss, said that many people who struggle with hearing loss are reluctant to seek help in facing their daily difficulties.

Approximately 37.5 million people – about 15 percent of American adults – have been reporting trouble with their hearing capacity, reported the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD).

16 percent of adults aged 20-69 who could have benefited from hearing aids did not tried to use one. Moreover, the NIDCD estimated that less than 1 in 3 adults aged 70 and older had ever used one (30 percent).

A hearing aid is a small electronic device which facilitates sound amplification and is worn in or behind the ear to ease impaired hearing. It is a rather effective instrument to amplify sounds for those suffering from hearing impairment.

Hearing aids are devices that help to amplify certain sounds to the wearer. These hearing aids are known to improve the quality of hearing and communication abilities of the wearer, however, many people who suffer from hearing impairment have never used one.

Myers has also been initially reluctant to getting treatment for his condition. He experienced hearing loss as a teenager, but he started using the hearing aid when he reached his 40s.

Statistics issued by the The National Center for Health stated that people generally wait 6 years from the first hearing loss signals until they actually seek help for their condition. Myers continued by saying that this is due to vanity, denial and a lack of awareness of how much their hearing was affected.

A study conducted on 2.304 people by The National Council on Aging unveiled the fact that those who would not use a hearing electronic apparatus were 50 percent more likely to experience depression in comparison to those who would use them.

Those who would use hearing aids were also inclined to participate in regular social activities. Myers implied that social isolation among people experiencing hearing loss could also lead to dementia. He had studied a previous source of information published in the Archives of Neurology.

Myers explained that depression, frustration, anxiety and anger were common traits among people who found themselves hard of hearing. Convincing people to use the latest hearing technological instruments could actually help them regain control of their lives, improve their cognitive functions and gain emotional stability.

Myers also suggested that the popular hearing pattern system used in the UK and Scandinavia could improve the preparatory measures for those affected by the condition in public spaces. The technique could be beneficial to people with hearing impairment in becoming more social.

An important aspect of the hearing devices is that they function as wireless speakers and are effective in areas where there is a lot of background noise, for instance: train stations and auditoriums.

It was reported by the World Health Organization that approximately 1.1 billion teenagers and young adults faced the risk of hearing loss, due to exposure to unsafe and overly-high levels of sound.

Prof. Myers concluded that making hearing aid devices more appealing to people who need them would be extremely important for these people. Instead of choosing a negative path due to not addressing the problem, sufferers ought to seek help even from the early stages of hearing impairment.

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