There are numerous potential causes of exhaustion, everything from not being able to sleep at night to respiratory problems like sleep apnea. But many individuals are surprised to find out that persistent tiredness and exhaustion can also be caused by something fairly common: hearing loss.
That’s at least partially due to the fact that hearing loss usually progresses gradually over time. You may find yourself continuously exhausted for no apparent reason because you failed to detect the symptoms of early hearing loss. This can be a frustrating experience. Additionally, this exhaustion can frequently result in irritability and, eventually, social isolation. The good news is that treating your hearing loss will frequently boost your energy levels, mitigating fatigue and exhaustion.
Your brain will compensate for slowly developing hearing loss
For the majority of individuals, hearing loss is a very gradually-progressing condition that gets worse over time. You might not even recognize that you have a hearing loss at first. If you’re not specifically watching for them, even conspicuous symptoms, like turning the volume on your audio devices way up, can be easy to miss.
One of the more difficult to miss symptoms of hearing loss is often fatigue. You may feel depleted no matter how much rest you got the night before. Regrettably, many individuals don’t instinctively connect this symptom with hearing loss.
That’s because the cause happens in your brain. Your brain has to work overtime to process sound because of the loss of your ability to hear, which can leave you exhausted. This continual extra work is taxing in the same way that extended periods of concentration can take a toll. Left untreated, this fatigue can grow worse over time, impacting your quality of life and your ability to execute daily routine tasks.
The role of stigma
So when people start to feel tired, why wouldn’t they just consult a hearing specialist? One partial reason is that individuals just don’t connect fatigue with hearing loss. But the notion of stigma is another cause which can be even more damaging. Individuals often feel like others will think they’re old if they have hearing loss and that admitting it will ruin their lives. Individuals will often avoid pursuing treatment because of these mistaken notions.
However, this stigma is starting to disappear as more people become open to their hearing loss. Many people understand that hearing loss is not some type of social failing, and the very small nature of modern hearing aids makes them easy to hide around people who unfortunately will not let go of this stigma.
It’s unfortunate that this social stigma can make it more difficult for individuals to find the care they need because this frequently results in hearing loss that gets worse over time when it might not have to.
Solutions for hearing loss-related fatigue
The earliest stages of hearing loss might not have any noticeable symptoms. That’s why hearing specialists prefer to take a preventative strategy instead of the far more challenging and less effective reactive approach. For instance, scheduling regular screenings with a hearing specialist before you detect symptoms can help create a baseline of what your healthy hearing looks like. Early treatment will be much more effective after we have identified that baseline.
You can minimize hearing loss related exhaustion by taking a few proactive steps. Here are a few of the most common and easiest steps:
- 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 need to work as hard and you won’t experience the same level of fatigue.
- Try to have conversations in quieter spots: When there is a lot of background noise, it can be difficult to sort out voices, even with hearing aids in some instances. It will be easier, and less tiring, to understand conversations if you move them to a quieter area.
- Give yourself a rest in between conversations: In between conversation, take a quiet break somewhere. Your brain is working extra hard to engage in conversation and brief rests will make that more sustainable.
- See a hearing specialist: Keeping an eye on the state of your hearing is important. When hearing loss is in its early phases, your brain doesn’t have 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.
It’s most likely time to make an appointment with a hearing specialist if you’re experiencing fatigue with no obvious cause. You can reduce your fatigue and boost your energy by treating your hearing loss. Don’t let stigma cause your hearing loss to continue to be untreated.