There are numerous potential causes of tiredness, everything from not being able to sleep at night to respiratory issues like sleep apnea. But many individuals are surprised to learn that persistent 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 might find yourself constantly 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 often turn into irritability which could cause you to socially seclude yourself. Fortunately, your energy levels will normally increase once you get your hearing loss treated.
Your brain will compensate for gradually developing hearing loss
Hearing loss is usually a gradually developing condition that grows worse over time. You might not even recognize that you have a hearing loss at first. Even prevalent symptoms, like cranking up the volume on your TV and smartphone, can be easy to miss if you aren’t looking for them.
Exhaustion is one of the most noticeable symptoms of hearing loss. You may feel depleted no matter how much sleep you got the night before. This symptom, regrettably, isn’t typically associated with hearing loss.
Because the cause happens in your brain, the symptoms aren’t usually considered an ear issue. Your brain has to work extra hard to process sound because of the loss of your ability to hear, which can leave you fatigued. Just as sustained periods of intense concentration can leave you tired, the extra brain power required to hear what people are saying can be exhausting. Left untreated, this fatigue can get worse over time, affecting your quality of life and your ability to complete daily routine tasks.
The role of stigma
So when individuals start to feel fatigue, why wouldn’t they just go see a hearing specialist? One partial reason is that individuals just don’t associate tiredness with hearing loss. But the perception of stigma is another cause which can be even more damaging. People frequently feel as if others will think they’re old if they have hearing loss and that acknowledging it will ruin their lives. All of these things are untrue, and they stop many people from seeking treatment.
However, this stigma is beginning to fade away 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 construction of modern hearing aids makes them easy to hide around folks who sadly will not let go of this stigma.
It’s unfortunate that this social stigma can make it harder for individuals to find the care they need because this frequently leads to hearing loss that gets worse over time when it may not have to.
Treatment options for hearing loss-related fatigue
There are often no apparent symptoms of early phase hearing loss. That’s why hearing specialists prefer to take a preventative approach instead of the far more challenging and less effective reactive method. For instance, scheduling routine screenings with a hearing specialist before you detect 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. Here are a few of the most prevalent and simplest steps:
- Try to find more quiet, isolated areas for conversations: Distinguishing voices from background noise can be difficult 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, lessening fatigue in the process.
- See a hearing specialist: It’s important to keep tabs on your hearing health. When hearing loss is in its early stages, your brain doesn’t need 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.
- If you have hearing aids, wear them as often as you can: Hearing aids are manufactured to help you focus on the sounds of human speech, meaning conversation will be substantially easier to understand when you are hearing them. 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 refresh in between conversations. Your brain is working extra hard to take part in conversation and brief breaks will make that more sustainable.
So if you’re feeling an abnormal amount of exhaustion and tiredness, with no discernible cause, it may be time to schedule a visit to your hearing specialist. You can reduce your fatigue and boost your energy by treating your hearing loss. Don’t neglect your hearing loss because you’re concerned about the stigma.