If you have hearing loss and you leave social situations that require focused listening feeling very tired, you’re not alone. The feeling is called hearing-loss fatigue and highlights the importance of proper hearing care.
Hearing-loss fatigue is quite common. In a 2021 study, 41 adults were surveyed about their fatigue levels. The study showed that fatigue levels related to hearing loss can be quite significant, impacting quality of life. If you’ve been feeling tired after meeting with friends at Cozzi Café, you may be experiencing hearing loss and could benefit from a hearing test.
Impact of Hearing-Loss Fatigue
Understanding the ties between hearing loss and daily fatigue and exhaustion can help manage further health outcomes, so it’s important to understand how hearing-loss fatigue works. Some forms of hearing loss, such as presbycusis, make it harder to hear high-pitched sounds first. In conversation, this means it could be harder for the listener to hear consonant sounds or sounds like “th.”
In loud environments, the listener has to use increased listening effort to fill in the blanks of the sounds they can’t hear. This requires heightened concentration, resulting in fatigue. Participants of the study with hearing loss reported fatigue for more than half the days in a two-week period. For every 10 decibels of hearing loss, the participants were more likely to report fatigue nearly every day.
How to Protect Hearing
In most cases, once hearing loss has progressed, it cannot be reversed. That’s why it’s important to protect your hearing. The studies did not prove that proper hearing care can reduce fatigue once you have hearing loss, so follow some important tips to protect your hearing over time.
Ways to protect hearing:
- Wear hearing protection such as earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones in loud environments
- Take breaks from loud settings or noises
- Listen to warnings from your smart device that you’ve reached your volume threshold
There are ways to manage hearing loss symptoms that will still improve overall quality of life. Hearing aids and assistive listening devices are options to manage hearing loss. To schedule a hearing test or talk with a hearing specialist, contact Torrance Audiology.