Tiredness can have a variety of causes, ranging from a simple sleepless night to respiratory problems like sleep apnea. But there is something more common that can also cause fatigue and that’s hearing loss.
To some extent, that’s because hearing loss can be a slow-moving, subtle condition. You may not immediately distinguish the symptoms and, as a result, you may feel as if you’re constantly tired for no reason. This experience can be very frustrating. In addition, this exhaustion can frequently result in irritability and, ultimately, social isolation. Luckily, your energy levels will normally increase once you get your hearing loss treated.
Your brain will compensate for slowly progressing hearing loss
Hearing loss is usually a slowly advancing condition that grows worse over time. In its early stages, you likely won’t even notice that you’re developing hearing loss. If you aren’t specifically watching for them, even obvious symptoms, like cranking the volume on your audio devices way up, can be easy to miss.
One of the harder 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, regrettably, isn’t usually associated with hearing loss.
Because the cause takes place in your brain, the symptoms aren’t generally considered an ear problem. Your brain needs to work extra hard to process sound because of the loss of your ability to hear, which can leave you fatigued. This continual extra work is exhausting in the same way that extended periods of concentration can take a toll. Left untreated, this exhaustion can get worse over time, impacting your quality of life and your ability to perform daily routine tasks.
Stigma plays a role
So when people start to feel tired, why wouldn’t they simply go see a hearing specialist? There are many explanations: often people are busy or thinking about other things. But there’s another reason that might ultimately be more damaging: stigma. 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 seeking treatment because of these mistaken ideas.
However, this stigma is starting to disappear as more individuals become open to their hearing loss. It’s becoming a more prevalent understanding that hearing loss can happen to people of all ages and today’s hearing aids are small enough that the few people who can’t get over this stigma won’t even notice them.
Regrettably, 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.
Solutions for hearing loss-related fatigue
There are frequently no obvious symptoms of early stage hearing loss. That’s why hearing specialists prefer to take a preventative strategy rather than the far more challenging and less effective reactive method. Hearing specialists advocate for regular screenings in order to create 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 established, early intervention is frequently a lot more effective.
You can minimize hearing loss associated exhaustion by taking a few proactive steps. Here are a few of the most prevalent and simplest steps:
- Try to locate more quiet, isolated areas for conversations: Distinguishing voices from background noise can be challenging when you have hearing loss (often whether you’re wearing hearing aids or not). 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, minimizing fatigue in the process.
- Schedule a consultation with a hearing specialist: It’s important to monitor your hearing health. When hearing loss is in its early stages, your brain doesn’t have to work as hard as it does when the condition gets worse, and a hearing specialist can identify hearing loss when it first begins to develop.
- Be certain you use 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 degree of fatigue.
- Give yourself a rest in between conversations: Give yourself some quiet time to rest and recharge in between conversations. Your brain is working extra hard to participate in conversation and brief rests will make that more sustainable.
It’s probably time to make an appointment with a hearing specialist if you’re experiencing exhaustion with no obvious cause. Treating hearing loss can help you minimize your exhaustion and boost your energy. Don’t neglect your hearing loss because you’re concerned about the stigma.
