There are lots of potential causes of fatigue, everything from being unable to sleep at night to respiratory problems like sleep apnea. But many people are surprised to learn that chronic fatigue and exhaustion can also be a result of something relatively common: hearing loss.
That’s at least partially because of the fact that hearing loss normally develops slowly over time. You might not immediately distinguish the symptoms and, as a result, you may feel as if you are constantly tired for no reason. This can be a frustrating experience. This exhaustion can frequently turn into irritability which could cause you to socially isolate yourself. The good news is that treating your hearing loss will often boost your energy levels, mitigating fatigue and exhaustion.
Your brain will compensate for slowly developing hearing loss
For most individuals, hearing loss is a very slow-moving condition that grows worse over time. You may not even recognize that you have a hearing impairment at first. If you aren’t specifically watching for them, even conspicuous symptoms, like turning the volume on your audio devices way up, can be easy to overlook.
Exhaustion is one of the most obvious symptoms of hearing loss. You may feel tired no matter how much rest you got the night before. Unfortunately, many individuals don’t instinctively associate this symptom with hearing loss.
That’s because the cause takes place in your brain. Your brain needs to work extra hard to process sound due to the loss of your ability to hear, which can leave you fatigued. In the same way as prolonged periods of intense concentration can leave you tired, the additional brain power required to hear what people are saying can be exhausting. Left untreated, this fatigue can get worse over time, impacting your quality of life and your ability to perform daily routine tasks.
The role of stigma
So why don’t more individuals just consult a hearing specialist when they begin feeling fatigued? One partial explanation is that individuals just don’t associate tiredness with hearing loss. But the perception of stigma is another reason which can be even more detrimental. Individuals often feel like 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 people from finding treatment.
However, as more individuals are open about their hearing loss experience, the stigma has begun to disappear. It’s becoming a more common understanding that hearing loss can happen to individuals of all ages and modern 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 put off on getting the treatment they need leading to more serious permanent hearing loss.
Solutions for hearing loss-related fatigue
The earliest stages of hearing loss may not have any evident symptoms. That’s why hearing specialists favor taking a preventative approach instead of the far more challenging and less effective reactive approach. For example, scheduling regular screenings with a hearing specialist before you notice symptoms can help establish a baseline of what your healthy hearing looks like. Once this baseline is achieved, early intervention is often much more effective.
You can lessen hearing loss related exhaustion by taking a few proactive measures. Here are several of the most prevalent and easiest steps:
- Consult a hearing specialist: Keeping an eye on the state 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 gets worse, and a hearing specialist can diagnose hearing loss when it first begins to develop.
- Try to locate more quiet, secluded areas for conversations: Sorting out voices from background noise can be challenging when you have hearing loss (often whether you’re using hearing aids or not). It will be easier, and less exhausting, to understand conversations if you move them to a quieter area.
- Give yourself a break in between conversations: Give yourself some quiet time to rest and refresh in between conversations. Your brain is working extra hard to take part in conversation and brief breaks will make that more sustainable.
- Be sure you wear your hearing aids as often as you can: One of the primary 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 level of fatigue.
It’s most likely time to schedule an appointment with a hearing specialist if you’re experiencing fatigue with no apparent cause. Treating hearing loss can help you minimize your exhaustion and boost your energy. Don’t let stigma cause your hearing loss to continue to be neglected.