When you’re a youngster, falling is simply a part of life. Taking a tumble on your bicycle? That’s normal. Stumbling over your own feet while you’re running outside? Also fairly normal. Kids are very limber so, no big deal. They rebound pretty easily.
As you grow older though, that becomes less and less true. The older you get, the more concerning a fall can be. One reason for this is that bones break easier and heal slower when you’re older. Older people might have a harder time getting up after falling, so they spend more time in pain lying on the floor. Because of this, falls are the number one injury-connected cause of death in people over 65.
That’s why tools and devices that can decrease falls are always being sought after by healthcare professionals. New research seems to indicate that we may have discovered one such device: hearing aids.
Can falls be caused by hearing loss
In order to figure out why hearing aids can help prevent falls, it helps to ask a related question: is it possible that hearing loss can increase your risk of having a fall? It looks as if the answer might be, yes.
So you have to ask yourself, why would the danger of falling be increased by hearing loss?
There’s not really an intuitive association. Hearing loss doesn’t really, after all, impact your ability to see or move. But this type of direct impact on your mobility, and an increased risk of falling, can be a result of some hearing loss symptoms. Here are some of those symptoms:
- You can’t hear high-frequency sounds: You know how when you walk into an auditorium, you immediately detect that you’re in a spacious venue, even if your eyes are closed? Or when you get into a car and you instantly know you’re in close quarters? Your ears are actually utilizing something like “echolocation” and high-frequency sound to help your spatial awareness. You will lose the ability to quickly make those assessments when hearing loss causes you to lose those high-frequency tones. This can bring about disorientation and loss of situational awareness.
- Exhaustion: Your brain is working overtime and you’re always straining when you have untreated hearing loss. Your brain will be constantly exhausted as a consequence. An exhausted brain is less likely to see that obstacle in your path, and, as a consequence, you may end up tripping and falling over something that an attentive brain would have detected.
- Your situational awareness is impaired: You may not be capable of hearing the sound of your neighbor’s footsteps, the dog barking next door, or an approaching vehicle when you have neglected hearing loss. In other words, your situational awareness might be significantly impacted. Can you become clumsy like this because of hearing loss? Well, in a way yes, everyday activities can become more hazardous if your situational awareness is compromised. And that means you might be a little bit more likely to accidentally bump into something, and take a fall.
- Depression: Untreated hearing loss can cause social solitude and depression (and also an increased risk of dementia). You are likely to be at home a lot more when you’re socially isolated, and tripping dangers will be all around without anybody to help you.
- Loss of balance: How can hearing loss impact your balance? Well, your overall balance depends heavily on your inner ear. So when hearing loss affects your inner ear, you may find yourself a little more likely to grow dizzy, experience vertigo, or have difficulty keeping your balance. In other words, you have a tendency to fall more often.
Age is also a factor with regard to hearing loss-related falls. As you age, you’re more likely to develop irreversible and progressive hearing loss. That will increase the probability of falling. As a result, when you get older, falls are more likely to have severe repercussions.
How can the risk of falling be reduced by using hearing aids?
It seems logical that hearing aids would be part of the remedy when hearing loss is the issue. And new research has borne that out. One recent study found that wearing hearing aids could cut your risk of a fall in half.
In the past, these figures (and the connection between hearing aids and staying upright) were a bit less clear. That’s to some extent because people often fail to use their hearing aids. As a result, falls among “hearing aid users” were frequently inconclusive. This was because individuals weren’t wearing their hearing aids, not because their hearing aids were broken.
The method of this study was carried out differently and maybe more precisely. Individuals who used their hearing aids now and then were segregated from people who used them all of the time.
So why does wearing your hearing aids help you avoid falls? Generally speaking, they keep you more vigilant, more concentrated, and less fatigued. The increased situational awareness doesn’t hurt either. Many hearing aids also include a feature that can notify the authorities and family members in case of a fall. This can mean you get assistance quicker (this is crucial for people older than 65).
But the trick here is to be certain you’re wearing your hearing aids often and regularly.
Get your fall prevention devices today
You will be able to remain close to your family members if you use hearing aids, not to mention catch up with friends.
They can also help prevent a fall!
If you want to find out more about how hearing aids could help you, make an appointment with us right away.
