Have your friends, family, and co-workers been asking you to get hearing aids but you’ve been stubbornly resisting? Are you feeling like your hearing loss is not that severe at the moment and getting a hearing aid isn’t worth it?
If your hearing continues to worsen, it could cost you as much as $30,000 each year, even if you think that it’s fine right now. Not only could you end up injuring yourself by dismissing your hearing loss, you could also cost yourself income and lost opportunities by missing important medical or work details.
Lost opportunities and unemployment
If you do not hear everything you need to, it will ultimately impact your performance at work. Your inability to hear coworkers could cause a breakdown in relationships and you could get passed over on opportunities for upcoming projects because you failed to follow instructions on previous projects. You could end up going unnoticed by people at all levels if you become socially secluded at work. These “small” things compound over time and impact your ability to reach your highest earning potential. A study by the Better Hearing Institute found that people who have untreated hearing loss earned, on average, $20,000 less a year than people who treated their loss of hearing.
Unemployment rates are also higher for individuals with untreated hearing loss, according to other research. A neglected severe hearing loss translates into a 15 percent higher risk of being unemployed. So, as the years pass, neglected hearing loss may wind up costing you lot’s of money.
Falls will cost you even more in medical expenses
Neglected 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 with even minor untreated hearing loss as reported by one study. In addition, there is a 1.4-fold increase in falls for every additional 10 dB of hearing loss. The researchers speculated that there could be a connection between the degree of hearing loss and effects on the vestibular system, which handles balance, or that individuals with greater impairment simply became more wrapped up in compensating for the loss than paying attention to particular physical dangers. And when you have a fall it often results in an expensive trip to the doctor.
Worse health outcomes
But that isn’t it. You might be missing some of the advice from your doctor if you have neglected hearing loss. When it involves your health, you could have worse outcomes if you miss details and that can produce increased health costs. A huge financial gap will be the consequence. Over time, considerably higher medical expenses will result from untreated hearing loss according to several studies. In one study, it was revealed that these individuals will have a 40% higher risk of trips to the emergency room and over a ten year period, will shell out over $20,000. The University of South Carolina published a study that revealed a 33% increase in healthcare costs for people with untreated hearing loss over an 18 month time period.
Another study conducted by Johns Hopkins University suggested that people with neglected moderate to severe hearing loss had a substantially higher chance of death.
So, if you’re interested in protecting yourself both physically and financially, it’s time to have your hearing tested. Depending on the results of that test, you may have to invest in hearing aids. If you do, you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised. Hearing aids these days are state-of-the-art, really comfortable to wear, and sound clear. Make your overall life better by taking advantage of this amazing technology.
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References
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2018/patients-with-untreated-hearing-loss-incur-higher-health-care-costs-over-time