People take hearing loss lightly because they think it only affects their hearing. A study from Johns Hopkins University reports that hearing loss makes it three times more likely to sustain injuries from a fall. Since our sense of balance is disrupted when we experience loss of hearing, we are prone to falling down, which can cause traumatic injury to the brain. Any injury to the brain can cause severe decline in our health and can even be fatal.
After taking a fall, people often get up and brush themselves off without realizing that they may have just suffered some form of brain damage. Ninety percent of those who have accidents that cause brain injuries remain fully conscious after the incident. This is why they dismiss it easily, even though they may have suffered some type of trauma to the brain. The higher the level of hearing loss, the higher the chances are of sustaining a fall that results in brain trauma.
You may question why hearing loss results in an increased likelihood of falling down. Damage to the ears and muffled hearing places excessive strain on the brain to decipher the limited sound signals coming to the brain. This overload can make it difficult for the brain to maintain a sense of equilibrium, resulting in falls.
Thankfully, severe problems like brain injuries due to falling can be averted simply through the use of hearing aids. All you have to do is get yourself a pair of hearing instruments which can significantly lessen the burden on your brain that results from hearing loss. Hearing aids not only improve your hearing, they also improve your sense of balance and keep you safe from injury, according to a study conducted at the Washington University School of Medicine.
Any form of trauma to the brain can cause lifelong damage to our health and well-being. Untreated hearing loss is associated with several other health risks, such as dementia and cardiovascular disease. Our health tends to decline as we age, and our hearing may also decline as a result. However, we can continue to live to the best of our abilities simply by using hearing aids to help us get back the control in our lives. If you or a loved one is suffering from hearing loss, visit your hearing care professional today and talk to them about getting hearing aids.