Have your friends, family, and co-workers been requesting that you get hearing aids but you’ve been stubbornly avoiding it? Are you feeling like your hearing loss isn’t that severe at the moment and purchasing a hearing aid isn’t worth it?
If your hearing keeps getting worse, it could cost you as much as $30,000 per year, even if you assume that it’s fine for now. Not only could you end up injuring yourself by neglecting your hearing loss, you could also cost yourself income and lost opportunities by missing important medical or work information.
Lost opportunities and unemployment
If you do not hear everything you need to, it will ultimately effect your performance at work. Your inability to hear coworkers could cause a breakdown in relationships and you could get passed over on opportunities for future projects because you couldn’t follow instructions on previous projects. If you become socially isolated at work, you could end up less noticed by people at all levels of the company. You might not be able to reach your max earning potential as these little things add up over time. Research conducted by the Better Hearing Institute discovered that people who have untreated hearing loss earned, on average, $20,000 less a year than people who treated their loss of hearing.
Research also suggests that people with untreated hearing loss have a higher chance of being unemployed. Individuals who don’t treat their hearing loss will be 15% more likely to be unemployed. So, as time passes, letting your hearing loss go unattended may end up costing you lot’s of money.
Falls will cost you even more in medical expenses
You’ll have a higher likelihood of having a fall if you have neglected hearing loss which can deal you another financial setback. The chance of falling is raised by 300% for people who have even mild neglected hearing loss as reported by one study. And, for every 10 dB increase in hearing loss, there is a 1.4-fold increase in falls. The researchers conjectured that there might be a link between the amount of hearing loss and effects on the vestibular system, which controls balance, or that people with more profound impairment simply became more wrapped up in compensating for the loss than paying attention to particular physical dangers. And when you fall it often leads to an expensive trip to the doctor.
Worse health outcomes
But there’s more to it than just that. If you are unable to hear well, you could miss instructions from your doctor. If you miss information from your doctor, you may end up having worse consequences in health matters, thus leading to more costs and more problems. All of these incidents add up to a significant financial gap. Over time, significantly higher medical expenses will result from neglected hearing loss according to numerous studies. One study said the average increase was more than $20,000 over a ten year period and that these individuals were 40% more likely to end up in the emergency room. A more recent study from the University of South Carolina suggested that neglected hearing loss led to a 33% increase in healthcare expenses over an 18 month period.
Moderate to severe neglected hearing loss can lead to a significantly increased risk of death according to a study published by Johns Hopkins University.
So it’s time for a hearing test if you want to protect yourself financially and physically. You may need hearing aids depending on the test results. If you do, you’ll likely be fairly surprised. Hearing aids nowadays are state-of-the-art, very comfortable to use, and sound clear. Take advantage of the available technology to improve your life in all respects.
References
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2018/patients-with-untreated-hearing-loss-incur-higher-health-care-costs-over-time