The eyes invite us in, then our healthy hearing lets us experience it.
The eyes invite us in, then our healthy hearing lets us experience it. As one of our most important senses, the ability to hear allows us to connect with the world. Enabling us to communicate in a way that none of our other senses can.
“Blindness cuts us off from things, but deafness cuts us off from people.” Helen Keller
Hearing takes center stage when what we see is unclear. It monitors our surroundings for potential threats or experiences that call on us to shift our visual attention.
Experience Healthy Hearing
The importance of healthy hearing should not be underestimated.
When our hearing declines, and for most of us it will, it can take away from how we experience life. The fact is hearing loss doesn’t just affect us physically it can impact our emotional and social health too.
Although the greater the hearing loss, the more our ability to communicate is affected. The impact on the daily life of milder hearing loss should never be underestimated or ignored. Remember, the eyes invite us in, then our hearing lets us experience it.
Left untreated, hearing loss can lead to:
- Negative attitude, anger, and irritability
- You feel stressed, fatigued, and tense
- Depression
- Loneliness
- You avoid social scenes
- Job performance is lower
- You have trouble remembering things or following directions
Many people chalk these symptoms up to old age. But the truth is, that hearing loss occurs in every age group. That is why it is especially important to catch hearing loss in children. Healthy hearing is so essential to their language development and learning skills. But adults also need to watch for signs of hearing loss too.
Signs you’re missing the experience with early hearing loss:
- Irritated at others for mumbling
- You’re having trouble following conversations
- Talking on the phone is more challenging
- Some sounds seem louder than normal
- It’s harder to carry on a conversation in a crowded room
- Everyone is telling you to turn down the TV
- You feel like you’re getting clumsier
- People tell you things, but you don’t remember
- You don’t get jokes like you used to
- Easily distracted
Invite Healthy Hearing
If your ears ring after you have used equipment or attended a concert the noise level was too high. This is where decibels come in. A decibel is a unit of measure that indicates how loud a sound is. The higher the level, the louder the noise is. With increased levels and longer periods of exposure, your risk of permanent hearing loss increases.
So, if you buy a new lawnmower or wonder what to get dad for Father’s Day head to the PPE aisle. Grab a handful of earplugs or a pair of noise-reducing headphones to invite healthy hearing.
Remember to keep your hearing healthy. You don’t want to miss out on the experiences your eyes have invited you in on.
Source, Donna R. Demarco, AAS, BC-HIS & David Ludden, Ph.D.
If you enjoyed this read please visit our post on The Rewards of Gardening for more tips on healthy living.
