Tiredness can have a wide range of causes, ranging from a simple sleepless night to respiratory problems such as sleep apnea. But many individuals are surprised to find out that chronic fatigue and exhaustion can also be a result of something relatively common: hearing loss.
To some extent, that’s because hearing loss can be a slow-moving, subtle condition. You may find yourself continuously fatigued for no apparent reason because you failed to recognize the symptoms of early hearing loss. This can be a frustrating experience. This fatigue can frequently turn into irritability which could cause you to socially isolate yourself. Luckily, your energy levels will typically increase once you get your hearing loss treated.
Hearing loss progresses gradually (and your brain compensates)
Hearing loss is normally a gradually progressing condition that gets worse over time. You may not even realize that you have a hearing impairment at first. Even common symptoms, like cranking the volume up on your TV and smartphone, can be easy to miss if you’re not watching for them.
Exhaustion is one of the most obvious symptoms of hearing loss. Regardless of how much sleep you get, you could still feel exhausted. This symptom, unfortunately, isn’t usually associated with hearing loss.
Because the cause occurs in your brain, the symptoms aren’t generally considered an ear problem. When your ears aren’t getting as much information, your brain works harder to make sense of it all. Just as extended periods of intense concentration can leave you fatigued, the extra brain power required to hear what people are saying can be exhausting. Left untreated, this exhaustion can get worse over time, impacting your quality of life and your ability to complete daily routine tasks.
Stigma plays a role
So when people begin to feel tired, why wouldn’t they simply go see a hearing specialist? One partial reason is that individuals just don’t associate tiredness with hearing loss. But there’s another reason that might inevitably be more detrimental: stigma. There’s a feeling that hearing loss is bad or ruins your life or that there’s nothing that can be done about it. All of these things are untrue, and they prevent many people from finding treatment.
However, this stigma is beginning to disappear as more individuals become open to their hearing loss. 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 sadly will not let go of this stigma.
Unfortunately, this perception of social stigma can cause individuals in the early stages of hearing loss to avoid getting the treatment they need leading to more serious permanent hearing loss.
How to manage hearing loss-associated fatigue
There are frequently no apparent symptoms of early stage hearing loss. That makes it challenging to effectively take a reactive approach, and it’s why many hearing specialists prefer preventative approaches. Hearing specialists advocate for regular screenings in order to create a baseline of your healthy hearing, that way they will be able to identify changes to your hearing in subsequent screenings. Once this baseline is achieved, early intervention is frequently a lot more effective.
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 steps include the following:
- If you use hearing aids, wear them as frequently as possible: One of the main 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 need to work so hard.
- Try to locate more quiet, secluded places for conversations: Sorting out voices from background noise can be difficult when you have hearing loss (often whether you’re wearing hearing aids or not). It will be easier, and less exhausting, to understand conversations if you move them to a quieter area.
- Schedule an assessment with a hearing specialist: It’s important to monitor 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.
- Take breaks from conversations: In between conversation, take a quiet rest somewhere. Your brain is working overtime to take part in conversation and brief breaks will make that more sustainable.
So if you’re feeling an unusual amount of exhaustion and tiredness, with no discernible cause, it might 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 neglected.
