You know what it’s like to attempt to disregard a toothache? They can be rather rough. At some point, you end up having no choice but to consult a dentist. And when your eyesight starts to blur it’s the same. You’ll probably contact an ophthalmologist when you begin to have problems reading street signs. The trouble is, you might not show nearly as much urgency when your hearing starts to go.

And that may be an error in judgment. There are significant health issues (particularly mental health issues) that can happen due to untreated hearing loss. Naturally, you can only neglect your diminishing hearing if you’re actually aware of it. And that’s difficulty number two.

You May Have Hearing Loss if You Detect These Symptoms

We normally take our hearing for granted. A high volume music festival? No biggie. Blasting ear pods? That’s just how you like your podcasts. But all of those choices, especially in the long run, is going to have a considerable impact on your overall hearing.

Unfortunately, those impacts could be hard to detect. Hearing loss can sneak up on you gradually, with symptoms that advance so slowly as to be effectively invisible. That’s why it’s a good idea to be familiar with some primary red flags (and to be certain you don’t ignore them):

• You consistently blow the speakers in your earpods because you have the volume up too high
• You frequently need to ask individuals to repeat themselves
• You have a particularly hard time hearing consonants when listening to casual speech
• You always have to crank up the volume on your devices
• When you’re in a crowded noisy setting you have a difficult time keeping up with conversations
• Distorted or dull sounding speech from individuals near you (co-workers, family, friends)
• Your short term memory tends to suddenly fail now and then
• You feel an inexplicable sense of exhaustion or have significant trouble falling asleep at night

These symptoms, red flags, or warnings are all rather well recognized. If your hearing loss comes on especially gradually, your brain will immediately begin to compensate for any hearing loss that occurs, making you rather unaware, at first, to your symptoms. That’s the reason why you should make an appointment with your hearing care professional because these warning symptoms should be taken seriously.

What Going to Happen if You Neglect Your Hearing Loss?

Indeed, some people are quite stubborn. Or they just don’t like the thought of wearing a hearing aid. They have this fear that wearing a hearing aid is some kind of immediate sign for old age (as if continuously asking people to speak up is a sign of everlasting youth). But in reality, most contemporary hearing aids are practically unseen (and it doesn’t hurt when you can understand and participate in conversations).

Still, if you ignore hearing loss it may result in numerous issues:

• You could cause your hearing to worsen: If you don’t utilize hearing aids or enhanced ear protection, You’ll continue to turn up your devices. Or you won’t utilize earplugs when you attend rock concerts. And your hearing will keep diminishing as you keep to do harm to your ears.
• You could have strained relationships: There’s something that takes place when you have a hard time comprehending your friends and relatives: you stop talking to them. You stop saying hi, you stop checking in, you distance yourself. And that can damage some of those relationships, especially if the problem is hearing loss that you have kept secret (and not because you’re angry at them).
• Depression and cognitive decline could result: As your relationships fray and going out becomes more difficult, you may start to detect signs of depression. You may also begin to go through some cognitive decline without the auditory stimulation your brain is used to, your neural physiology starts to experience certain changes. If your hearing loss isn’t treated, it can result in longterm cognitive worries.

Don’t Ignore Your Hearing Loss

Clearly, neglecting your hearing loss can cause bigger and more significant issues down the road. On the other hand, your quality of life can be significantly improved by recognizing and treating your hearing loss. Your every day life is more full and your relationships improve when you start to hear better. And your general health will be enhanced by consulting a hearing specialist or at least downloading a noise monitoring app.

Hearing loss is certainly a health condition you shouldn’t ignore. The sooner you find the right treatment, the happier you’ll be. Don’t wait until the proverbial toothache gets too painful to ignore.