There are numerous potential causes of fatigue, everything from being unable to sleep at night to respiratory issues like sleep apnea. But there is something more common that can also cause tiredness and that’s hearing loss.
In part, that’s because hearing loss can be a slow-moving, subtle condition. You might find yourself constantly exhausted for no apparent reason because you failed to detect the symptoms of early hearing loss. This can be a frustrating experience. This exhaustion can often turn into irritability which could cause you to socially isolate yourself. The good news is that treating your hearing loss will often improve your energy levels, mitigating fatigue and exhaustion.
Hearing loss moves slowly (and your brain compensates)
For most people, hearing loss is a very slow-moving condition that grows worse over time. In its early phases, you probably won’t even notice that you’re developing hearing loss. Even common symptoms, like turning up the volume on your TV and smartphone, can be easy to miss if you aren’t looking for them.
One of the more difficult to miss symptoms of hearing loss is often exhaustion. You may feel depleted no matter how much rest you got the night before. Unfortunately, many individuals don’t intuitively link this symptom with hearing loss.
That’s because the cause occurs in your brain. When your ears aren’t getting as much information, your brain works overtime to make sense of it all. This continual extra work is taxing in the same way that extended periods of concentration can take a toll. Your ability to execute daily tasks and your total quality of life can be substantially affected over time as your neglected hearing loss gets worse.
The role of stigma
So why don’t more individuals just visit a hearing specialist when they begin feeling tired? One partial reason 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 frequently 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 false, and they stop many people from finding treatment.
However, as more people are open about their hearing loss experience, the stigma has begun to disappear. Many people understand that hearing loss is not some kind of social failing, and the very small nature of modern hearing aids makes them easy to hide around folks who unfortunately will not let go of this stigma.
It’s a shame that this social stigma can make it harder for people to find the care they need because this often results in hearing loss that grows worse over time when it might not have to.
How to deal with hearing loss-associated fatigue
The earliest stages of hearing loss may not have any apparent symptoms. That makes it challenging to effectively take a reactive approach, and it’s why many hearing specialists favor preventative techniques. For instance, scheduling regular screenings with a hearing specialist before you detect symptoms can help establish a baseline of what your healthy hearing looks like. Early treatment will be a lot more effective after we have identified that baseline.
You can minimize hearing loss associated exhaustion by taking a few proactive steps. Some of the simplest and most common steps include the following:
- If you have hearing aids, wear them as frequently as you can: Hearing aids are designed to help you focus on the sounds of human speech, meaning conversation will be considerably easier to make out when you are hearing them. This means you won’t be as fatigued because your brain won’t have to work so hard.
- Try to have conversations in quieter areas: When there is a lot of background noise, it can be challenging to sort out voices, even with hearing aids in some circumstances. It will be easier, and less fatiguing, to understand conversations if you move them to a quieter location.
- Take breaks from conversations: In between conversation, take a quiet rest somewhere. Your brain is working extra hard to engage in conversation and brief breaks will make that more sustainable.
- Schedule a consultation with a hearing specialist: Keeping an eye on the status of your hearing is essential. 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.
So if you’re dealing with an abnormal amount of exhaustion and tiredness, with no evident cause, it may be time to schedule 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.