Have your family, friends, and co-workers been asking you to invest in hearing aids but you’ve been stubbornly avoiding it? Are you thinking that your hearing loss isn’t that bad right now and getting a hearing aid isn’t worth it?
Even if you believe you’re doing fine right now, your hearing loss might get a lot worse – and if that happens, it could possibly cost you more than $30,000 a year. 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.
Missed opportunities and unemployment
If you don’t hear everything you’re supposed to, it will ultimately effect your work performance. Your inability to hear coworkers may be causing a deterioration in relationships and you could get passed over on opportunities for upcoming projects because you couldn’t follow instructions on past projects. If you become socially secluded at work, you could end up overlooked by people at every level of the company. These ”little” things compound over time and impact your ability to reach your full earning potential. A study by the Better Hearing Institute revealed that individuals with neglected hearing loss earned, on average, $20,000 less a year than people who dealt with their hearing loss.
Unemployment rates are also higher for people with neglected hearing loss, according to another study. People who don’t address their hearing loss will be 15% more likely to be unemployed. Not getting treatment, therefore, might cost you a lot of money as the years go on.
Extra medical bills from falls
Neglected hearing loss can cause another financial hit by actually making you more likely to have a fall. One study found that even people with mild neglected hearing loss raise their risk of falling by 300 percent. And, for every 10 dB increase in hearing loss, there is a 1.4-fold increase in falls. The researchers conjectured that there could be a link between the degree of hearing loss and effects on the vestibular system, which deals with balance, or that individuals with greater impairment just became more wrapped up in compensating for the loss than paying attention to specific physical dangers. And of course, those falls lead to more medical expenses, and thus more cash out of your pocket.
Worse health outcomes
But that’s not all. If you are unable to hear well, you could miss information from your physician. If you miss information from your doctor, you may end up having worse outcomes in health matters, thus resulting in more costs and more problems. A major financial gap will be the consequence. Over time, substantially higher medical costs will result from untreated hearing loss according to several studies. In one study, it was revealed that these people will have a 40% increased risk of trips to the emergency room and over a ten year period, will pay out over $20,000. The University of South Carolina published a study that indicated a 33% increase in healthcare expenses for people with neglected hearing loss over an 18 month period.
Another study from Johns Hopkins University indicated that individuals with untreated moderate to profound hearing loss had a substantially higher risk of death.
So it’s time for a hearing assessment if you want to protect yourself physically and financially. You may need hearing aids depending on the results of that test. You will probably get a pleasant surprise if you do. Hearing aids today are state-of-the-art, really comfortable to wear, 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
