Tiredness can have a variety of causes, ranging from a simple sleepless night to respiratory problems such as sleep apnea. But there is something more common that can also cause tiredness and that’s hearing loss.
That’s at least partly due to the fact that hearing loss usually develops gradually over time. You may not immediately recognize the symptoms and, as a result, you may feel as though you are constantly tired for no reason. This can be a frustrating experience. This fatigue can frequently turn into irritability which could cause you to socially isolate yourself. The good news is that treating your hearing loss will frequently boost your energy levels, mitigating tiredness and exhaustion.
Your brain will compensate for slowly progressing hearing loss
Hearing loss is normally a slowly advancing condition that grows worse over time. You may not even realize that you have a hearing impairment at first. Even common symptoms, like cranking the volume up on your TV and smartphone, can be easy to miss if you’re not watching for them.
One of the more difficult to miss symptoms of hearing loss is often exhaustion. You might feel depleted no matter how much rest you got the night before. This symptom, unfortunately, isn’t usually associated with hearing loss.
That’s because the cause takes place in your brain. When your ears aren’t receiving as much information, your brain works overtime to comprehend it all. This continual extra work is exhausting in the same way that extended periods of concentration can take a toll. Left neglected, this fatigue can grow worse over time, impacting your quality of life and your ability to perform daily routine activities.
Stigma plays a role
So when people begin to feel tired, why wouldn’t they just go see a hearing specialist? There are several explanations: frequently individuals are busy or thinking about other things. But the notion of stigma is another cause which can be even more damaging. Individuals frequently feel as if others will think they’re old if they have hearing loss and that acknowledging it will ruin their lives. Individuals will often avoid pursuing treatment because of these mistaken ideas.
However, this stigma is beginning to disappear as more individuals become open to their hearing loss. Many people understand that hearing loss isn’t some type of social failing, and the very small construction of modern hearing aids makes them easy to hide around folks who unfortunately will not let go of this stigma.
Unfortunately, this perception of social stigma can cause people in the early stages of hearing loss to avoid getting the treatment they need leading to more serious permanent hearing loss.
How to deal with hearing loss-associated fatigue
There are frequently no noticeable symptoms of early phase hearing loss. That’s why hearing specialists prefer to take a preventative strategy instead of the far more difficult and less effective reactive approach. Hearing specialists recommend routine screenings in order to establish a baseline of your healthy hearing, that way they will be capable of identifying changes to your hearing in subsequent screenings. Once this baseline is established, early intervention is frequently much more effective.
You can minimize hearing loss associated exhaustion by taking a few proactive measures. Here are a few of the most common and easiest steps:
- 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 cases. Moving conversations to an area with less background noise can make it easier for your brain to focus on the voice you’re trying to hear, reducing fatigue in the process.
- Make sure you wear your hearing aids as frequently as you can: One of the main functions of hearing aids is to clarify human speech, making understanding conversations much easier. This means your brain won’t have to work as hard and you won’t experience the same amount of fatigue.
- Take breaks from conversations: In between conversation, take a quiet break somewhere. Your brain is working overtime to participate in conversation and brief breaks will make that more sustainable.
- Schedule a consultation with a hearing specialist: It’s important to keep tabs on your hearing health. When hearing loss is in its early phases, your brain doesn’t have to work as hard as it does when the condition gets worse, and a hearing specialist can diagnose hearing loss when it first begins to develop.
So if you’re experiencing an unusual amount of fatigue and tiredness, with no discernible cause, it may be time to plan a visit to your hearing specialist. Treating hearing loss can help you reduce your exhaustion and boost your energy. Don’t let stigma cause your hearing loss to continue to be untreated.