Bobby Baun is a legendary Toronto Maple Leaf’s defenseman, famous for scoring a Stanley Cup winning goal from a broken ankle. He’s now a spokesman for the importance of getting your hearing checked early, and admits to once being in denial about his own hearing loss.
“You don’t realize how much you become uncommunicative and how you think people are putting the blame on you for different things, so you lose your self-esteem.”
Like Bobby, we know the dangers of waiting to assess or correct your hearing loss may go even deeper than communication problems. Consider five potential risks for waiting:
- Personal Relationships. Much like Bobby mentioned above, your loved ones may find it difficult to communicate effectively with you and vice versa. This can lead to social withdrawal and tensions within existing relationships.
- Performance at Work. Like in your personal relationships, communication may become more difficult at work, resulting in social alienation and decreased opportunities for advancement.
- Auditory Deprivation. Just as with anything in the body, if your hearing is not used or exercised, it begins to atrophy. Auditory deprivation may cause hearing conditions to steadily worsen if left untreated.
- Depression. Along with the social issues mentioned above, both at home and in the workplace, comes depression. As we pull away from our support systems a correlation exists between hearing loss and depression among all age groups.
- Links to Dementia. We have previously mentioned the John Hopkins study that links hearing loss to dementia. Whether caused by added strain on cognitive function or by the ensuing social isolation, restoring lost hearing is the best kind of prevention.
Communication is so important, not just in our own lives but to our loves ones, our coworkers, and indeed, our own bodies. Without a doubt, at Schneiker Audiology, we understand your hesitation to confirm suspected hearing loss. We even understand that you may not want to think about treatment options that you feel will invade your life and privacy. The thing is – we also understand what an incredible difference we can make in your life.
Bobby Baun would agree: don’t delay. Contact us now to get started.