Tiredness can have a wide variety of causes, ranging from a simple sleepless night to respiratory conditions such as sleep apnea. But many people are surprised to find out that persistent tiredness and exhaustion can also be a result of something fairly common: hearing loss.
That’s at least partly due to the fact that hearing loss usually progresses slowly over time. You might not immediately detect the symptoms and, as a result, you might feel as if you are constantly tired for no reason. This can be a frustrating experience. In addition, this exhaustion can frequently lead to irritability and, ultimately, social isolation. Luckily, your energy levels will usually increase once you get your hearing loss treated.
Hearing loss moves slowly (and your brain compensates)
For the majority of individuals, hearing loss is a very gradually-progressing condition that grows worse over time. You may not even realize that you have a hearing loss at first. Even common symptoms, like turning up the volume on your TV and smartphone, can be easy to miss if you aren’t watching for them.
Fatigue is one of the most obvious symptoms of hearing loss. No matter how much rest you get, you could still feel exhausted. Unfortunately, many individuals don’t instinctively link this symptom with hearing loss.
That’s because the cause takes place in your brain. When your ears aren’t getting as much information, your brain works harder to comprehend it all. This constant extra work is taxing in the same way that prolonged periods of concentration can take a toll. Your ability to perform daily tasks and your general quality of life can be considerably affected over time as your neglected hearing loss gets worse.
Stigma plays a role
So why don’t more individuals just consult a hearing specialist when they begin feeling fatigued? One partial reason is that people just don’t associate tiredness with hearing loss. But there’s another reason that may ultimately be more detrimental: stigma. Individuals frequently feel as if others will think they’re old if they have hearing loss and that admitting it will ruin their lives. All of these things are untrue, and they stop many individuals from finding treatment.
However, as more individuals are open about their hearing loss experience, the stigma has begun to disappear. Many individuals understand that hearing loss isn’t some kind of social failing, and the very small construction of modern hearing aids makes them easy to hide around folks who unfortunately will not get over this stigma.
Unfortunately, this perception of social stigma can cause individuals in the early stages of hearing loss to avoid getting the treatment they need leading to more severe permanent hearing loss.
How to manage hearing loss-associated fatigue
There are frequently no apparent symptoms of early stage hearing loss. That makes it challenging to effectively take a reactive strategy, and it’s why many hearing specialists prefer preventative techniques. Hearing specialists advocate for routine screenings in order to establish a baseline of your healthy hearing, that way they will be able to identify changes to your hearing in later screenings. Once this baseline is achieved, early intervention is frequently a lot more effective.
You can minimize hearing loss related exhaustion by taking a few proactive measures. Here are several of the most common and easiest steps:
- If you have hearing aids, wear them as often as possible: Hearing aids are manufactured to help you focus on the sounds of human speech, meaning conversation will be considerably easier to understand when you are hearing them. This means you won’t be as fatigued because your brain won’t need to work so hard.
- Schedule an assessment with a hearing specialist: Keeping an eye on the condition of your hearing is important. When hearing loss is in its early stages, your brain doesn’t need to work as hard as it does when the condition worsens, and a hearing specialist can diagnose hearing loss when it first begins to develop.
- Take breaks from conversations: In between conversation, take a quiet break somewhere. Your brain is working extra hard to participate in conversation and brief rests will make that more sustainable.
- Try to have conversations in quieter spots: When there is a lot of background noise, it can be challenging to sort out voices, even with hearing aids in some circumstances. It will be easier, and less tiring, to understand conversations if you move them to a quieter area.
So if you’re experiencing an abnormal amount of exhaustion and tiredness, with no discernible cause, it might be time to plan a visit to your hearing specialist. You can reduce your fatigue and boost your energy by treating your hearing loss. Don’t neglect your hearing loss because you’re concerned about the stigma.
