Have your family, friends, and co-workers been requesting that you invest in hearing aids but you’ve been stubbornly avoiding it? Do you think that presently you really don’t need a hearing aid or that you’re not losing enough to warrant getting one?
If your hearing continues to worsen, it could cost you as much as $30,000 each year, even if you assume that it’s fine right now. Going without part of your hearing means you could miss important work or medical information and opportunities, and you may end up injuring yourself physically, too.
Unemployment and lost opportunities
Your job performance will be impacted if you aren’t hearing everything you need to. You could get passed up for future projects because you didn’t follow instructions on past work, or your interaction with co-workers may have deteriorated because you couldn’t hear them. If you become socially secluded at work, you could end up less noticed by people at every level of the company. These “small” things compound over time and impact your ability to reach your full earning potential. A study by the Better Hearing Institute revealed that individuals who have neglected hearing loss earned, on average, $20,000 less a year than those who treated their loss of hearing.
Research also suggests that people with untreated hearing loss have a higher chance of being unemployed. An untreated severe hearing loss translates into a 15 percent greater risk of being unemployed. Not seeking treatment, consequently, might cost you lot’s of money as the years go on.
Added medical bills due to falls
You’ll have a higher likelihood of falling if you have untreated hearing loss which can deal you another financial blow. The chance of falling increases by 300% for people with even mild neglected hearing loss as detailed by one study. Additionally, for every 10 dB increase in hearing impairment, there is a 1.4-fold increase in falls. The vestibular system handles balance and researchers believe there might be a link between the level of hearing loss and how it impacts that system. Or, it may also be possible that someone with neglected hearing loss just gets disoriented in their environment because they’re overcompensating with their other senses. And when you have a fall it often leads to an expensive trip to the doctor.
Worse health outcomes
But there’s more to it than just that. You may be missing some of the guidance from your doctor if you have neglected hearing loss. If you miss information from your doctor, you could wind up having worse consequences in health matters, thus resulting in more costs and more problems. All of these incidents add up to a huge financial gap. Over time, significantly higher medical expenses will result from neglected hearing loss according to numerous studies. One study said the average increase was more than $20,000 over a ten year period and that these individuals were 40% more likely to end up in the emergency room. A more recent study from the University of South Carolina revealed that untreated hearing loss led to a 33% increase in healthcare expenses over an 18 month time period.
Another study conducted by Johns Hopkins University indicated that individuals with untreated moderate to severe hearing loss had a substantially higher risk of death.
So it’s time for a hearing exam if you want to protect yourself financially and physically. You may need hearing aids depending on the test results. If you do, you’ll likely be fairly surprised. Contemporary hearing aids are extremely clear and comfortable. Make your overall life better by taking advantage of this amazing technology.
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References
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2018/patients-with-untreated-hearing-loss-incur-higher-health-care-costs-over-time
https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/newsroom/articles/year-2022/july-hearing-loss-and-falls