Why hearing health matters

Nothing stays the same forever. Getting older comes with all sorts of changes.

Changes to our lifestyles, our bodies, our health. These aren’t always easy to deal with, but they’re a normal and natural part of ageing.

Take your hearing as an example. It might not be what it once was. And that’s ok, right?

It’s not convenient, but you manage. Maybe you listen to the TV and the radio a bit louder. Ask people to repeat themselves more often. Lip read a little more if it’s a really loud room.

Age-related hearing loss is incredibly common. In fact, over 65% of people over the age of 65 have it to some degree. Because it is something that many people deal with, hearing loss is often thought of as little more than a nuisance. But if the difficulty you have hearing in loud places becomes noticeable in quiet ones too, it could start to take a toll on your daily life.

Spending less time talking to people you don’t have a strong relationship with is one thing. But difficulty hearing can mean you also talk less to the most important people in your life.

Say you’re in a busy restaurant with a group of friends. You’re surrounded by the hum of conversation, laughter, cutlery hitting plates, music playing. You’ve spent countless evenings in this way, talking about everything and nothing for hours. But the last few times, you’ve found it harder to follow what everyone around the table is saying. They might not have noticed, but you certainly have.

Over time, this could leave you feeling less like going out and socialising. And this isn’t to be taken lightly. Our social life isn’t something frivolous that is just for enjoyment’s sake; it has a stronger health impact than it’s often given credit for. Various studies have shown that finding it harder to hear and maintain conversations can lead people to avoid social situations out of fear and embarrassment of not hearing and being heard.

If your hearing causes you to spend more time on your own and get less out of your social life, it can easily leave you feeling down and a bit out of sorts.

Over time, persistent hearing changes may come with more serious health risks. Even if it’s gradual, starting to avoid socialising can leave you more and more isolated from your friends, family and community.

This is not good for our social health – our sense of belonging in the world and connection to the people around us.

Science shows that feeling isolated, or even lonely, over a period of time can create a ripple effect that impacts your mental health – putting you more at risk for issues like stress, anxiety or even depression.

Even if you are not feeling isolated or lonely, changes to your hearing can still put you at risk of depression. The link between hearing changes and depression has been studied a lot in recent years and the research shows that you are more at risk of developing depression if you’re experiencing hearing loss.

Ultimately, what starts as a change to your ears can create a domino effect that impacts your mind, body and social life.

Hearing changes not only takes a toll on how you feel, but also how you think.

Our ears are essential to our brain function. But not being able to hear as well makes the brain work harder to understand sounds.

Over time, hearing loss can put pressure on your ability to remember things and pay attention as well as you once could. Hearing changes also can mean the brain receives less input, so it is not as stimulated, which can cause parts of it to shrink.

These kinds of changes to brain function are the most serious risks of hearing loss, but they are often not talked about. In some cases, these changes to how the brain works can lead to serious conditions, like dementia. Research shows that hearing loss may increase the risk of it, especially if left untreated.

Some of the challenges of hearing changes affect your everyday life in a more obvious way – in communication and listening. But there are other challenges that run deeper – affecting mental and social health in serious ways.

Generally speaking, hearing loss is treatable. But if it is left untreated over a long period of time, hearing loss can turn from a slight inconvenience into a risk to your social life, wellbeing and even the health of your mind, brain and body.

If you recognise that you might be experiencing some hearing loss, plenty can be done to support your health – and you can start today! The first step is looking out for hearing loss. Spotting the signs in yourself or your loved ones is a simple process, but it can have a big impact on your health and wellbeing.