Have you avoided the calls from friends, family, and co-workers to finally invest in a hearing aid? Do you think that right now you really don’t need a hearing aid or that you’re not losing enough to justify buying one?
If your hearing keeps getting worse, it could cost you as much as $30,000 per year, even if you think that it’s fine right now. Going without part of your hearing means you might miss important work or medical information and opportunities, and you could end up hurting yourself physically, too.
Unemployment and lost opportunities
Your job performance will be impacted if you’re not hearing everything you need to. Your inability to hear coworkers may be causing a deterioration 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 secluded at work, you could end up overlooked by people at every level of the company. You may not be capable of reaching your full earning potential as these little things add up over time. Research conducted by the Better Hearing Institute found that people with neglected hearing loss earned, on average, $20,000 less a year than those who treated their hearing loss.
Unemployment rates are also increased for individuals with untreated hearing loss, according to another study. A neglected severe hearing loss translates into a 15 percent greater risk of being unemployed. Not getting treatment, therefore, might cost you a lot of money as time goes by.
Additional medical bills from falls
You’ll have a higher likelihood of falling if you’re dealing with neglected hearing loss which can deal you another financial setback. One study found that even people with mild untreated hearing loss raise their danger of falling by 300 percent. In addition, there is a 1.4-fold increase in falls for every additional 10 dB of hearing loss. The researchers speculated that there might be a link between the degree of hearing loss and effects on the vestibular system, which deals with balance, or that people who have greater impairment simply became more wrapped up in compensating for the loss than focusing on specific physical dangers. And of course, those falls result in more medical bills, and consequently more money out of your pocket.
Worse health outcomes
But there’s more to it than just that. You could be missing some of the guidance from your doctor if you have neglected hearing loss. If you miss information from your doctor, you may end up having worse consequences in health matters, thus resulting in more bills and more issues. All of these occurrences add up to a huge financial gap. Over time, substantially higher medical expenses will result from untreated hearing loss according to several studies. One study noted the average increase was more than $20,000 over a ten year period and that these individuals were 40% more likely to go to the emergency room. The University of South Carolina released a study that revealed a 33% increase in healthcare expenses for people with untreated hearing loss over an 18 month time period.
Another study conducted by Johns Hopkins University suggested that people with untreated moderate to profound hearing loss had a considerably higher risk of death.
So, if you’re interested in protecting yourself both financially and physically, it’s time to have your hearing checked. You might need hearing aids depending on the results of that test. If you do, you’ll likely be fairly surprised. Hearing aids nowadays are state-of-the-art, very comfortable to use, and sound clear. Make your total life better by taking advantage of this wonderful technology.
References
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2018/patients-with-untreated-hearing-loss-incur-higher-health-care-costs-over-time