[Lifestayle] practical tips to protect your ears in a pandemic

[WilkerCSBD]

If hearing loss is not addressed in time, it could lead to illnesses such as dementia or depression.

This March 3 marks World Hearing Day, a date that seeks to raise awareness about timely detection and treatment for those with hearing disabilities

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In the country there are around 7 million people who suffer from some kind of partial or total limitation to listen properly and the importance of a timely diagnosis guarantees an effective treatment. Technological development allows today to have alternatives to treat various types of hearing loss such as hearing aids, cochlear implants and osseointegrated implants.

Another important fact is that 100% of hearing loss could be detected early. A large number of people affected by hearing loss can improve it with medicine, surgery, and the use of hearing aids and other devices.

In this important day we must highlight the importance of detecting and treating hearing loss. For this reason, the speech therapist, Jonathan Bareño, affirms that, if treatment is not done early, other medical complications could be generated such as:

1. Dementia. It is estimated that around 40% of patients with a hearing impairment may report accelerated cognitive decline, according to Aging & Mental Health, which means that some patients who do not receive auditory stimulation show that their auditory cortex is less developed and a higher risk of suffering. this disorder.

2. Depression. The inability to communicate and function autonomously leads patients to suffer from anxiety and sometimes panic attacks.

3. Heart and vascular difficulties. This problem is not generated so much by hearing loss or hearing loss but by the stress it produces, which sometimes leads to hypertension due to communication difficulties.

4. Language development. In patients under 10 years of age, hearing loss generates a delay in language development or school learning difficulties, which can be complicated in these virtual times.

Today technological development allows to have various alternatives to treat hearing loss ranging from implants and non-implantable solutions, as well as medication.