5 reasons to stop ignoring your hearing loss

You’re watching your favorite Netflix show, and your partner yells from a different room, “Turn the … why is … so loud!” Confused, you yell back, “What?”

Have you had this kind of conversation before? If so, you’re likely due for a hearing check.

Age-related hearing loss—the kind that’s a natural part of getting older—is extremely common. In the United States, one-third of people between the ages of 65 and 74 have hearing loss, and that percentage increases to almost half for those aged 75 and older, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD).

Despite how common it is, the early signs of hearing loss tend to go largely unnoticed—or ignored. Audiologist Jael Hall, Au.D., who is a fellow with the American Academy of Audiology, says that, on average, people wait about seven years to seek treatment. And for those over the age of 70, only about 30 percent ever seek medical assistance.

Along with awkward conversations that involve asking people to repeat themselves, symptoms include a ringing in the ears (tinnitus), a need to crank up the volume, and a feeling that people are mumbling when they’re talking directly to you.

“Your hearing loss is yours, but it’s everybody else’s that has to communicate with you too,” says Dr. Hall, who practices at Beltone New England hearing aid centers in Connecticut.

Hearing loss that goes unchecked can have some pretty serious health consequences. Here are the top reasons it’s important to stop ignoring your own hearing loss and seek help.

Reason #1: To Protect Your Memory Functions

Recent research has found strong connections between age-related hearing loss and a higher risk of both faster cognitive decline and dementia. A study from Johns Hopkins University, for example, notes that over the course of 10 years, mild hearing loss doubles the risk of dementia, moderate hearing loss triples the risk, and severe hearing loss quintuples the risk.

Experts haven’t nailed down the exact reasons for the link; it is complicated and likely due to several factors. But theories suggest that it may be due to the brain trying to multitask, says Maura Cosetti, M.D., associate director of the Ear Institute at New York Eye and Ear of Mount Sinai, and the director of otology/neurotology at Mount Sinai Downtown.

As the brain shifts more cognitive resources toward trying to hear and understand others, she says, there is less power to do everything else. This leads to changes in brain structure and cognitive decline. Also, there may be similar age-related changes in brain structure that cause both hearing loss and cognitive decline.

Reason #2: To Stay Socially Active

“There is a huge connection between hearing loss and social isolation,” Dr. Hall says. “Hearing loss is an exhausting condition to suffer through. The energy required to strain, piece together parts of conversations, have people repeat themselves, and advocate for yourself in order to hear in any given situation is too much to ask of one person.”

Because of the difficulty in following and maintaining conversations, people can start to isolate themselves. Spending time with friends and family, she says, becomes a chore.

Recently, researchers from the University of Montpellier (France) and Florida State University looked at Americans over the age of 50, some of whom self-reported having poor hearing and poor eyesight. Over the course of four years, they found that participants who made those claims at the beginning of the study showed declines in “extraversion, openness, and agreeableness.”

“It’s easier for people with [untreated] hearing loss to draw away from events, so as to not have to deal with these obstacles,” Dr. Hall says.

Reason #3: To Safeguard Your Mental Health

That social isolation has the potential to trigger the onset of depression and/or anxiety. In fact, according to a 2021 study from researchers in Japan, age-related hearing loss is significantly associated with depression in older adults.

Dr. Hall has seen this firsthand with some of her patients. “Prior to getting treatment for hearing loss,” she says, “my patients often admit that they thought something along the lines of, ‘If you can’t enjoy these aspects of life anymore, why bother?’”

Another study showed that compared with people with normal hearing, those with even mild levels of hearing loss had a higher risk of developing anxiety. It’s “definitely a source of shame and embarrassment for some people (although it shouldn’t be), which increases anxiety tenfold when they have to be in difficult listening situations like groups or noisy places,” says Dr. Hall.

Reason #4: To Stay Safe

Not hearing well means you might miss out on important warning sounds like a car honking or a smoke detector beeping. Or, you might misunderstand your doctor’s instructions for taking a new medicine—including dosing and frequency—and that’s definitely not good.

“People often don’t realize their personal safety is at risk until a doctor or health care provider points it out to them,” says Dr. Hall. “Yet it’s one of my primary concerns when people aren’t getting their hearing loss treated.”

The risk of falling is another concern. When it comes to assessing a patient’s likelihood of a fall, hearing loss is “a worrisome and sometimes difficult risk to manage,” Dr. Hall says.

Think about it: A system in your inner ear, where age-related hearing loss takes place, is one part of a complex balance system that your brain uses to keep you steady on your feet. Research shows that hearing loss, particularly in advanced stages, directly impacts a person’s mobility, prompting them to take both shorter steps and fewer steps per minute.

Reason #5: To Lower Your Risk of Other Health Problems

Dementia and depression aren’t the only serious health conditions with ties to hearing loss. Research has also revealed links to an increased risk of arthritis, cancer, emphysema, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke.

Heart disease, in particular, has piqued the interest of health experts. There’s research in the works to figure out the relationship more precisely, but right now there’s a bit of a “which comes first” debate. Some studies point to hearing loss signaling heart disease. On the flip side, there’s also research that indicates that people with diagnosed cardiovascular-related problems, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, have a higher risk of hearing loss.

Dr. Hall also points out that diabetes is “one of the biggest medical conditions that is directly linked to hearing loss.” Uncontrolled high blood sugar levels damage blood vessels and nerve systems throughout the body, including in the ears.

And, according to a study in the journal Atherosclerosis, the more severe someone’s hearing loss is, the higher their risk of a stroke. However, this also goes both ways, as “we know for a fact that a stroke can adversely affect hearing,” Dr. Hall says.

What You Can Do Right Now

Hands down, the best thing to do is to make an appointment with your doctor and/or a hearing specialist and get a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.

“Hearing health is overall health,” says Dr. Cosetti. Protecting it should be up there with eating right, exercising more, and getting plenty of sleep.