Fatigue can have a wide range of causes, ranging from a simple sleepless night to respiratory conditions like sleep apnea. But many people are surprised to learn that chronic tiredness and exhaustion can also be due to something fairly common: hearing loss.
In part, that’s because hearing loss can be a gradually-moving, subtle condition. You may find yourself continuously exhausted for no apparent reason because you failed to recognize the symptoms of early hearing loss. This experience can be really frustrating. This exhaustion can frequently turn into irritability which could cause you to socially isolate yourself. Luckily, your energy levels will usually improve once you get your hearing loss treated.
Your brain will compensate for gradually progressing hearing loss
For the majority of individuals, hearing loss is a very gradually-progressing condition that grows worse over time. You might not even realize that you have a hearing loss at first. Even prevalent symptoms, like turning the volume up on your TV and smartphone, can be easy to miss if you’re not watching for them.
One of the more difficult to miss symptoms of hearing loss is often exhaustion. You may feel tired no matter how much rest you got the night before. This symptom, regrettably, isn’t typically associated with hearing loss.
Because the cause occurs in your brain, the symptoms aren’t usually considered an ear problem. When your ears aren’t getting as much information, your brain works harder to comprehend it all. Just as sustained periods of intense concentration can leave you tired, the additional brain power needed to hear what people are saying can be exhausting. Your ability to perform daily tasks and your general quality of life can be substantially impacted over time as your untreated hearing loss gets worse.
Stigma plays a role
So when people start to feel fatigue, why wouldn’t they simply visit a hearing specialist? One partial explanation is that people just don’t associate fatigue with hearing loss. But there’s another reason that may ultimately be more damaging: stigma. Individuals often feel like others will think they’re old if they have hearing loss and that admitting it will ruin their lives. People will frequently avoid seeking treatment because of these false ideas.
However, this stigma is starting to disappear as more people become open to their hearing loss. Many people understand that hearing loss is not some kind of social failing, and the very small nature of modern hearing aids makes them easy to hide around people who unfortunately will not get over this stigma.
It’s unfortunate that this social stigma can make it more difficult for people to find the care they need because this often leads to hearing loss that grows worse over time when it might not need to.
How to manage hearing loss-associated fatigue
The earliest phases of hearing loss might not have any evident symptoms. That makes it difficult to effectively take a reactive approach, and it’s why many hearing specialists favor preventative approaches. For example, scheduling routine screenings with a hearing specialist before you notice symptoms can help establish a baseline of what your healthy hearing looks like. Early treatment will be much more effective after we have identified that baseline.
If your hearing loss is causing fatigue, there are a few steps you can take to lessen that exhaustion as much as possible. A few of the easiest and most common measures include the following:
- Consult a hearing specialist: It’s important to keep tabs on your hearing health. When hearing loss is in its early phases, your brain doesn’t need to work as hard as it does when the condition gets worse, and a hearing specialist can identify hearing loss when it first begins to develop.
- Try to locate more quiet, isolated places for conversations: Distinguishing voices from background noise can be challenging when you have hearing loss (often whether you’re using hearing aids or not). Moving conversations to an area with less background noise can make it easier for your brain to focus on the voice you’re trying to hear, minimizing fatigue in the process.
- Give yourself a break in between conversations: Give yourself some quiet time to rest and refresh in between conversations. Your brain is working extra hard to engage in conversation and brief rests will make that more sustainable.
- Make sure you wear your hearing aids as often as you can: One of the main functions of hearing aids is to clarify human speech, making understanding conversations much easier. This means you won’t be as fatigued because your brain won’t need to work so hard.
So if you’re feeling an unusual amount of exhaustion and tiredness, with no evident cause, it may be time to schedule a visit to your hearing specialist. Treating hearing loss can help you reduce your exhaustion and boost your energy. Don’t neglect your hearing loss because you’re concerned about the stigma.
