There are a number of possible causes of exhaustion, everything from not being able to sleep at night to respiratory issues like sleep apnea. But there is something more common that can also cause fatigue and that’s hearing loss.
That’s at least partially due to the fact that hearing loss usually develops gradually over time. You may not immediately recognize the symptoms and, as a result, you might feel as if you’re constantly tired for no reason. This experience can be quite frustrating. This exhaustion can frequently turn into irritability which could cause you to socially seclude yourself. The good news is that treating your hearing loss will frequently boost your energy levels, reducing fatigue and exhaustion.
Your brain will compensate for slowly progressing hearing loss
For the majority of people, hearing loss is a very gradually-progressing condition that grows worse over time. In its early phases, you likely won’t even notice that you’re developing hearing loss. If you aren’t specifically watching for them, even conspicuous symptoms, like turning the volume on your audio devices way up, can be easy to miss.
One of the more difficult to miss symptoms of hearing loss is often fatigue. No matter how much sleep you get, you could still feel fatigued. This symptom, regrettably, isn’t usually associated with hearing loss.
That’s because the cause takes place in your brain. When your ears aren’t getting as much information, your brain works harder to make sense of it all. Just as sustained periods of intense concentration can leave you worn out, the extra brain power required to hear what individuals are saying can be exhausting. Your ability to perform daily tasks and your overall quality of life can be significantly impacted over time as your neglected hearing loss grows worse.
Stigma plays a role
So why don’t more individuals just go see a hearing specialist when they begin feeling tired? One partial explanation is that individuals just don’t connect fatigue with hearing loss. But there’s another reason that may ultimately be more detrimental: stigma. Individuals often feel like others will think they’re old if they have hearing loss and that acknowledging it will ruin their lives. People will frequently avoid seeking treatment because of these mistaken ideas.
However, as more individuals are open about their hearing loss experience, the stigma has begun to fade. It’s becoming a more common understanding that hearing loss can happen to people of all ages and today’s hearing aids are discreet enough that the few people who can’t let go of this stigma won’t even see them.
Regrettably, this perception of social stigma can cause individuals in the early stages of hearing loss to put off on getting the treatment they need resulting in more serious permanent hearing loss.
How to manage hearing loss-associated fatigue
There are often no obvious symptoms of early stage hearing loss. That makes it challenging to effectively take a reactive approach, and it’s why many hearing specialists favor preventative approaches. Hearing specialists recommend routine screenings in order to create a baseline of your healthy hearing, that way they will be capable of identifying changes to your hearing in subsequent screenings. Once this baseline is achieved, early intervention is often a lot more effective.
If your hearing loss is causing fatigue, there are a few 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: Hearing aids are manufactured to help you focus on the sounds of human speech, meaning conversation will be significantly easier to understand when you are hearing them. This means you won’t be as tired because your brain won’t need to work so hard.
- Take breaks from conversations: Give yourself some quiet time to rest and refresh in between conversations. Your brain is working extra hard to take part in conversation and brief rests will make that more sustainable.
- Try to find more quiet, secluded areas for conversations: When there is a lot of background noise, it can be difficult to sort out voices, even with hearing aids in some instances. It will be easier, and less exhausting, to understand conversations if you move them to a quieter spot.
- See a hearing specialist: Keeping an eye on the status of your hearing is essential. Visiting a hearing specialist can help you identify hearing loss in its early stages when it’s less of an issue and your brain doesn’t have to work as hard to compensate.
It’s most likely time to make an appointment with a hearing specialist if you’re experiencing exhaustion with no obvious cause. You can minimize your fatigue and boost your energy by treating your hearing loss. Don’t neglect your hearing loss because you’re afraid of the stigma.