There are a number of potential causes of fatigue, everything from the inability to sleep at night to respiratory issues like sleep apnea. But many people are surprised to learn that persistent tiredness and exhaustion can also be due to something relatively common: hearing loss.
That’s at least partly because of the fact that hearing loss usually progresses gradually over time. You might not immediately detect the symptoms and, as a result, you might feel as if you’re constantly tired for no reason. This can be a frustrating experience. This fatigue can often turn into irritability which could cause you to socially seclude yourself. The good news is that treating your hearing loss will frequently improve your energy levels, mitigating fatigue and exhaustion.
Hearing loss moves gradually (and your brain compensates)
Hearing loss is normally a slowly progressing condition that gets worse over time. In its early stages, you probably won’t even notice that you’re developing hearing loss. If you’re not specifically watching for them, even conspicuous symptoms, like cranking the volume on your audio devices way up, can be easy to miss.
Exhaustion is one of the most obvious symptoms of hearing loss. You might feel tired no matter how much sleep you got the night before. Unfortunately, many people don’t intuitively link this symptom with hearing loss.
Because the cause happens in your brain, the symptoms aren’t usually considered an ear problem. Your brain needs to work extra hard to process sound because of the loss of your ability to hear, which can leave you fatigued. This constant extra work is exhausting in the same way that long periods of concentration can take a toll. Left untreated, this exhaustion can grow worse over time, impacting your quality of life and your ability to execute daily routine activities.
Stigma plays a role
So when people begin to feel fatigue, why wouldn’t they simply consult a hearing specialist? There are several explanations: frequently people are busy or thinking about other things. But the notion of stigma is another cause which can be even more damaging. There’s a feeling that hearing loss is terrible or ruins your life or that there’s nothing you can do about it. People will frequently avoid pursuing treatment because of these mistaken notions.
However, as more people are open about their hearing loss experience, the stigma has begun to disappear. It’s becoming a more common understanding that hearing loss can happen to people of all ages and modern hearing aids are small enough that the few people who can’t get over this stigma won’t even see them.
It’s unfortunate that this social stigma can make it more difficult for individuals to find the care they need because this frequently results in hearing loss that grows worse over time when it may not need to.
How to manage hearing loss-associated fatigue
There are frequently no noticeable symptoms of early stage hearing loss. That’s why hearing specialists favor taking a preventative approach instead of the far more difficult and less effective reactive approach. Hearing specialists advocate for routine screenings in order to establish a baseline of your healthy hearing, that way they will be able to identify changes to your hearing in later screenings. Once this baseline is established, early intervention is frequently much more effective.
If your hearing loss is causing fatigue, there are a few steps you can take to lessen that exhaustion as much as possible. Some of the simplest and most common measures include the following:
- Schedule an assessment with a hearing specialist: It’s important to monitor your hearing health. When hearing loss is in its early stages, your brain doesn’t have to work as hard as it does when the condition worsens, and a hearing specialist can identify hearing loss when it first begins to develop.
- Try to locate more quiet, secluded areas for conversations: When there is a lot of background noise, it can be challenging to sort out voices, even with hearing aids in some instances. 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.
- Make sure you wear your hearing aids as often as you can: One of the primary 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 have to work so hard.
- Give yourself a break in between conversations: Give yourself some quiet time to rest and recharge in between conversations. Your brain is working overtime to engage in conversation and brief rests will make that more sustainable.
It’s probably time to make an appointment with a hearing specialist if you’re experiencing fatigue with no evident cause. Treating hearing loss can help you reduce your exhaustion and boost your energy. Don’t neglect your hearing loss because you’re afraid of the stigma.