Tiredness can have a variety of causes, ranging from a simple sleepless night to respiratory conditions like sleep apnea. But many individuals are surprised to learn that persistent fatigue and exhaustion can also be due to something fairly common: hearing loss.
That’s at least partially due to the fact that hearing loss usually develops gradually over time. You may not immediately detect the symptoms and, as a result, you may feel as though you’re constantly tired for no reason. This can be a frustrating experience. In addition, this exhaustion can often result in irritability and, ultimately, social isolation. The good news is that treating your hearing loss will often improve your energy levels, mitigating fatigue and exhaustion.
Hearing loss progresses gradually (and your brain compensates)
For the majority of people, hearing loss is a very gradually-progressing condition that gets worse over time. You might not even realize that you have a hearing impairment at first. If you’re not specifically watching for them, even obvious symptoms, like turning the volume on your audio devices way up, can be easy to overlook.
One of the harder to miss symptoms of hearing loss is often fatigue. Regardless of how much rest you get, you could still feel exhausted. This symptom, unfortunately, isn’t usually associated with hearing loss.
Because the cause happens in your brain, the symptoms aren’t generally considered an ear issue. When your ears aren’t receiving as much information, your brain works overtime to comprehend it all. This continual extra work is taxing in the same way that extended periods of concentration can take a toll. Left untreated, this exhaustion can grow worse over time, affecting your quality of life and your ability to execute daily routine tasks.
The role of stigma
So when individuals start to feel tired, why wouldn’t they just consult a hearing specialist? One partial explanation is that individuals just don’t connect fatigue with hearing loss. But the perception of stigma is another reason which can be even more detrimental. Individuals frequently feel as if 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 prevent many people from seeking treatment.
However, this stigma is beginning to fade away as more people become open to their hearing loss. It’s becoming a more common understanding that hearing loss can happen to individuals of all ages and modern hearing aids are discreet enough that the few people who can’t let go of this stigma won’t even see them.
It’s a shame that this social stigma can make it harder for people to find the care they need because this frequently results in hearing loss that gets worse over time when it may not need to.
Solutions for hearing loss-related fatigue
The earliest stages of hearing loss might not have any evident symptoms. That makes it difficult to effectively take a reactive approach, and it’s why many hearing specialists favor preventative approaches. For example, scheduling regular screenings with a hearing specialist before you notice symptoms can help create a baseline of what your healthy hearing looks like. Early treatment will be a lot more effective once we have identified that baseline.
If your hearing loss is causing fatigue, there are some steps you can take to minimize that exhaustion as much as possible. A few of the simplest and most common measures include the following:
- Make sure you use 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 you won’t be as tired because your brain won’t have to work so hard.
- Give yourself a rest in between conversations: Give yourself some quiet time to rest and recharge in between conversations. This can help your brain recuperate from all the work it’s doing and make everyday communication a little more sustainable.
- See a hearing specialist: It’s important to keep tabs on your hearing health. Visiting a hearing specialist can help you identify hearing loss in its early stages when it’s less of a problem and your brain doesn’t have to work as hard to compensate.
- Try to have conversations in quieter places: When there is a lot of background noise, it can be difficult to sort out voices, even with hearing aids in some cases. 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, lessening fatigue in the process.
So if you’re feeling an abnormal amount of exhaustion and tiredness, with no discernible cause, it might be time to plan a visit to your hearing specialist. Treating hearing loss can help you lessen your exhaustion and boost your energy. Don’t let stigma cause your hearing loss to continue to be untreated.
