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A Time To Reflect
The holidays mean something a little bit different to everyone. Some people may only see their loved ones once a year and look forward to it all year. For others the holidays may be a reminder of people that they miss. Some people may mostly feel the pinch of the financial strain and some people may cynically try to ignore them altogether. But everyone responds in some way or another whether they like it or not.
Obviously it is a time for celebration. Most of us allow ourselves a few indulgences that we might otherwise forego any other time of year: one extra cocktail, for example, or a second piece of pie. We figure the consequences are minor compared to giving yourself over entirely to the sense of celebration. But the flip side is also true. While we celebrate the passing of another year, reflecting on the new experiences we have enjoyed and the disappointments that we have survived, we also reflect on how we know that we could improve our lives. The new year is an occasion to commit ourselves intentionally to forming the sorts of habits that we now that we would like to have, the habits that we imagine our best selves having.
How exactly we imagine our best selves to be is unique to each individual. But one thing that every iteration of the concept has in common fundamentally, we all want to maximize our well-being. This desire is hard-wired into the core of our consciousness.
A Commitment to Your Hearing Health is a Commitment to Your Overall Well-Being
However differently each of us may imagine our own unique sense of well-being, there are basic elements that they all have in common. Many of these basic elements we frequently take for granted whenever we are blessed enough to do so, such as shelter and basic security. And our health is a big one. How often do we remember to appreciate our health until it fails us?
Consider your hearing health. Your physical safety at almost every moment depends on the proper functioning of your hearing. Navigating traffic as either a pedestrian or a driver becomes much more risky when your hearing is not up to snuff. And even alone in your home, the most controlled environment that you could possibly be in, your physical safety is at a heightened risk when your hearing is failing because your sense of balance depends on your hearing. Not to mention that you may not be able to hear sirens and alarms.
But so much more depends on your hearing health than just your immediate physical safety. Failure to properly treat hearing loss unravels into all kinds of bad situations. It threatens your psychological and emotional health. When hearing loss first comes on, without exception, people feel a subconscious urge to withdraw socially. This creates a new sense of loneliness because whatever their standards of socializing were before, they are now lessened. This loneliness leads to depression and depression creates a feedback loop of frustration which can quite literally lead to warping of normal cognitive functions.
As we can see, failure to treat your hearing health threatens the foundation of what we think of as our overall health. It wrecks our sense of well-being.
Hearing Loss is More Common Than You Think
Hearing loss is far more common than many people may assume, affecting almost 14% of the US population. It comes on so gradually that it is very unlikely that anyone notices it is happening to them before it is already creating adverse side effects. Even when people do accept that they have a problem, many people are likely to minimize it. In fact, less than 20% of all those who suffer from hearing loss seek appropriate treatment.
Make This New Year Your Excuse To Form Good Hearing Habits
There is no more reliable way to accurately gauge exactly how your hearing health is measuring up than to get an exam from a trained professional. This holiday season, as you are compelled to think about the future and consider all ways in which you could become more like that best version of yourself in your mind, take the initiative and make an appointment with one of our hearing health specialists today.