Kids have a tendency to fall on a daily basis. Taking a tumble on your bicycle? That’s typical. Stumbling over your own feet while you’re running outside? Also fairly normal. It isn’t really a worry because, well, kids are quite limber. They don’t usually stay down for long.
The same cannot be said as you get older. The older you get, the more concerning a fall can be. One reason for this is that bones are more brittle and heal slower when you’re older. Older individuals tend to spend more time lying on the floor in pain because they have a more difficult time getting back up. Falling is the leading injury-related cause of death as a result.
It’s not surprising, then, that healthcare professionals are always on the lookout for tools and devices that can decrease falls. Hearing aids may be just such a device according to research.
Can falls be caused by hearing loss
In order to understand why hearing aids can help avert falls, it helps to ask a related question: is it feasible that hearing loss can increase your chance of having a fall? In some situations, it appears that the answer is a definite yes.
So the question is, why would the risk of falling be increased by hearing loss?
There isn’t really an intuitive association. After all, hearing loss doesn’t directly impact your ability to move or see. But it turns out there are certain symptoms of hearing loss that do have this type of direct impact on your ability to move around, and these symptoms can result in a higher risk of falling. Some of those symptoms include:
- Exhaustion: When you’re dealing with untreated hearing loss, your ears are continuously straining, and your brain is always working extra hard. Your brain will be continuously exhausted as a result. An exhausted brain is less likely to see that obstacle in your path, and, as a result, you may end up tripping and falling over something that an attentive brain would have detected.
- Loss of balance: How is your balance affected by hearing loss? Well, your overall balance depends greatly on your inner ear. So when hearing loss affects your inner ear, you may find yourself a little more likely to get dizzy, experience vertigo, or have difficulty keeping your balance. As a result of this, you could fall down more frequently.
- Depression: Neglected hearing loss can result in social solitude and depression (not to mention an increased risk of dementia). You are likely to stay home a lot more when you’re socially separated, and tripping hazards will be all around without anyone to help you.
- Your situational awareness is impaired: When you have untreated hearing loss, you might not be as able to hear that approaching vehicle, or the dog barking next to you, or the sound of your neighbor’s footsteps. Your situational awareness could be substantially impacted, in other words. Can you become clumsy in this way due to hearing loss? Well, in a way yes, day-to-day activities can become more hazardous if your situational awareness is compromised. And that means you might be a little bit more likely to unintentionally stumble into something, and take a tumble.
- High-pitched sounds get lost: You know how when you walk into a concert hall, you instantly know that you’re in a spacious venue, even if your eyes are closed? Or how you can immediately detect that you’re in a small space when you get into a car. That’s because your ears are using high-pitched sounds to help you “echolocate,” more or less. When you can no longer hear high-frequency sounds because of hearing loss, you can’t make those assessments quite as quickly or easily. Loss of situational awareness and disorientation can be the result.
Part of the connection between hearing loss and falling is also in your age. You’re more likely to experience progressing and irreversible hearing loss. At the same time, you’re more likely to take a tumble. And when you’re older, falling can have much more severe repercussions.
How can the danger of falling be decreased by using hearing aids?
It seems logical that hearing aids would be part of the remedy when hearing loss is the problem. And this is being validated by new research. Your risk of falling could be decreased by as much as 50% based on one study.
In the past, these numbers (and the connection between hearing aids and remaining upright) were a bit less clear. That’s to some extent because individuals often fail to use their hearing aids. So it was inconclusive how frequently hearing aid users were having a fall. This wasn’t because the hearing aids were malfunctioning, it was because individuals weren’t using them.
The approach of this research was conducted differently and maybe more accurately. People who wore their hearing aids now and again were segregated from individuals who wore them all of the time.
So why does wearing your hearing aids help you prevent falls? They keep you less exhausted, more concentrated, and generally more alert. The added situational awareness doesn’t hurt either. Many hearing aids also come with a feature that can notify the authorities and family members in case of a fall. This can mean you get help faster (this is crucial for individuals older than 65).
But the key here is to make sure you’re wearing your hearing aids frequently and regularly.
Prevent falls with new hearing aids
You will be able to stay close to your loved ones if you wear hearing aids, not to mention catch up with friends.
They can also help prevent a fall!
Schedule an appointment with us today if you want to find out more about how your quality of life can be improved.