Have you avoided the calls from friends, family, and co-workers to finally invest in a hearing aid? Are you feeling that right now you really don’t need a hearing aid or that you’re not missing enough to warrant buying one?
If your hearing continues to worsen, it could cost you up to $30,000 per year, even if you think that it’s fine for now. Going without part of your hearing means you may miss significant work or medical details and opportunities, and you could end up hurting yourself physically, as well.
Unemployment and lost opportunities
Your work performance will be impacted if you aren’t hearing everything you need to. Your inability to hear coworkers may be causing a breakdown in relationships and you could lose opportunities for future projects because you failed to follow instructions on past projects. If you become socially secluded at work, you may be 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 people with untreated hearing loss earned, on average, $20,000 less a year than people who treated their hearing loss.
Unemployment rates are also higher for people with untreated hearing loss, according to other research. An untreated severe hearing loss translates into a 15 percent higher risk of being unemployed. So, as the years pass, neglected hearing loss may end up costing you lot’s of money.
Falls will cost you even more in medical bills
Untreated hearing loss can cause another financial hit by actually making you more likely to fall. The danger of falling is raised by 300% for people who have even minor untreated hearing loss as detailed by one study. And, for every 10 dB increase in hearing impairment, there is a 1.4-fold increase in falls. The vestibular system manages balance and researchers think 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 untreated hearing loss simply gets lost in their environment because they’re overcompensating with their other senses. And obviously, those falls result in more medical expenses, and consequently more cash out of your pocket.
Increased general health issues
But that’s not all. You might be missing some of the advice from your doctor if you have untreated hearing loss. When it comes to your health, you could have negative outcomes if you miss details and that can result in increased health costs. A major financial gap will be the consequence. Several studies have connected untreated hearing loss to considerably higher medical expenses over time. One study said the average increase was more than $20,000 over a ten year period and that these people were 40% more likely to go to the emergency room. More recent research from the University of South Carolina indicated that untreated hearing loss resulted in a 33% increase in healthcare expenses over an 18 month period.
Another study from Johns Hopkins University suggested that people with untreated moderate to severe hearing loss had a substantially higher chance of death.
So, if you want to protect yourself both financially and physically, it’s time to have your hearing checked. Depending on the results of that test, you may have to invest in hearing aids. If you do, you’ll likely be fairly surprised. Hearing aids nowadays are state-of-the-art, really comfortable to use, and sound clear. Make your total life better by taking advantage of this wonderful technology.
References
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2018/patients-with-untreated-hearing-loss-incur-higher-health-care-costs-over-time