When you’re a kid, falling is simply a part of life. Wiping out on your bike? That’s normal. Tripping over your own feet while you’re running outside? Happens all of the time. It’s not really a concern because, well, kids are pretty limber. They don’t usually stay down for long.
The same can’t be said as you get older. Falling becomes more and more of a worry as you get older. In part, that’s because your bones tend to break more easily (and heal slower). Older individuals might have a harder time standing back up after a tumble, so they spend more time in pain on the floor. As a result, falls are the number one injury-related cause of death in individuals over 65.
It’s not surprising, then, that healthcare professionals are always on the lookout for tools and devices that can reduce falls. Hearing aids might be just such a device according to research.
Can falls be caused by hearing loss
In order to understand why hearing aids can help prevent falls, it helps to ask a relevant question: is it feasible that hearing loss can increase your chance of having a fall? It appears as though the answer may be, yes.
So the question is, why would the risk of falling be raised by hearing loss?
There isn’t really an intuitive link. Hearing loss doesn’t really, after all, impact your ability to see or move. But it turns out there are certain symptoms of hearing loss that do have this type of direct impact on your ability to move around, and these symptoms can lead to an increased danger of falling. Here are some of those symptoms:
- You have less situational awareness: When you have untreated hearing loss, you may not be as able to hear that approaching vehicle, or the dog barking next to you, or the sound of your neighbor’s footsteps. Your situational awareness may be significantly affected, in other words. Can you become clumsy in this way as a result of hearing loss? Well, in a way yes, day-to-day tasks can become more hazardous if your situational awareness is compromised. And your chance of bumping into something and having a fall will be slightly higher.
- Exhaustion: When you have neglected hearing loss, your ears are continuously straining, and your brain is often working overtime. This means your brain is exhausted more often than not. A weary brain is less likely to detect that obstacle in your path, and, as a result, you might wind up tripping and falling over something that an attentive brain would have noticed.
- High-frequency sounds get lost: You know how when you walk into an auditorium, you immediately detect that you’re in a huge venue, even if your eyes are closed? Or when you jump into a car and you instantly know you’re in a small space? Your ears are actually utilizing something like “echolocation” and high-frequency sound to assist your spatial awareness. You will lose the ability to quickly make those judgment calls when hearing loss causes you to lose those high-pitched tones. This can cause disorientation and loss of situational awareness.
- Depression: Social isolation and maybe even mental decline can be the outcome of untreated hearing loss. You are likely to stay home a lot more when you’re socially separated, and tripping dangers will be all around without anyone to help you.
- Loss of balance: How is your balance impacted by hearing loss? Well, your general balance depends greatly on your inner ear. So when hearing loss impacts your inner ear, you might find yourself a bit more likely to grow dizzy, experience vertigo, or have difficulty keeping your balance. Because of this, you may fall down more often.
Age is also a factor with regard to hearing loss-related falls. You’re more likely to develop progressing and permanent hearing loss. That will raise the chance of falling. And when you’re older, falling can have much more severe repercussions.
How can the danger of falling be decreased by using hearing aids?
It seems logical that hearing aids would be part of the remedy when hearing loss is the issue. And this is being confirmed by new research. Your danger of falling could be lowered by up to 50% based on one study.
The link between staying on your feet and hearing loss wasn’t always this obvious. In part, that’s because not everybody uses their hearing aids all of the time. As a consequence, falls among “hearing aid users” were often inconclusive. This wasn’t because the hearing aids weren’t working, it was because individuals weren’t using them.
But this new research took a different (and maybe more accurate) strategy. Those who wore their hearing aids often were put in a different group than those who used them intermittently.
So how can you prevent falls by wearing hearing aids? They keep you less fatigued, more concentrated, and generally more vigilant. The added situational awareness also helped. Many hearing aids also include a feature that can notify the authorities and family members if a fall happens. This can mean you get assistance quicker (this is critical for people 65 or older).
But the trick here is to be sure you’re using your hearing aids often and consistently.
Prevent falls with new hearing aids
Hearing aids can help you catch up with your friends, enjoy quality moments with your loved ones, and remain in touch with everybody who’s significant in your life.
They can also help prevent a fall!
If you want to find out more about how hearing aids could help you, make an appointment with us right away.