Studies have shown that the brain begins to reorganize itself from the moment you start to lose your sense of hearing. This process of brain reorganization is known as neuroplasticity. In the early years, scientists thought the brain was static and could not change its functions. However, research has shown that this is not the case: a part of the brain can be re-assigned a different role. For example, if you lose your sense of hearing, then the part of the brain responsible for hearing will be assigned a different function.

Here are some of how the loss of hearing can impact your brain function;

1) Cognitive Decline

Studies conducted on people with impaired hearing revealed that their cognitive ability declined. Their ability to reason and make decisions was reduced. Hearing loss causes the part of the brain responsible for cognition to become less active. The brain is made of many neurons that are interconnected which means that if a part of the brain loses its function then another part of the brain will be affected.

2) Better Vision

The brain usually compensates a disability by performing better in a particular area of function. For example, if you lose your hearing ability, the brain will rewire itself to make your vision so great. Studies have revealed that your brain will rewire itself so that your vision function will extend to the part that was initially used for completing hearing functions. Therefore, you will have a greater ability to see.

3) Work Performance

Hearing loss can reduce your work performance in many ways. You lose your ability to have conversations with colleagues at work; you experience hearing difficulty during important meetings at the office. You can get a custom hearing device from Miracle-Ear to improve your hearing capabilities at your workplace.

4) Conversations in Noise

Hearing in a noisy environment can be difficult even to a person with a normal hearing ability. For people with untreated hearing loss, the thumping music, clanging of dishes and hundreds of conversations going on at once can make hearing nearly impossible. When loud noises overwhelm the ears, it becomes difficult to focus on speech.

In such situations, you can get a custom hearing device from Miracle-Ear that allows for noise control. It ensures that speech is protected and enhanced while background noise is lowered.

5) Love and Friendships

Connecting with people having impaired hearing can be difficult. Conversations can be annoying because they do not understand what you could be saying to them. This causes them to become socially isolated.

6) Enjoying Music and Movies

Because hearing loss takes away the ability to understand speech and sounds in movies, closed captions become a necessity. Hearing loss can make it impossible to enjoy watching romance and comedy movies.

7) Vocabulary

Various sounds and letters become difficult to hear and understand when you lose your hearing capability. Each letter and verbal sound corresponds to a unique frequency range which means that when you lose your hearing ability, you may not be able to detect certain letters and sounds. Your brain loses its capability to analyze sounds of particular frequencies.

Conclusion

Loss of hearing can have detrimental effects on your life. You lose your ability to communicate effectively; your social life fades away; your work performance is reduced. But Miracle-Ear can help you improve your hearing capability so that you may live a normal life.

By Arlene Huff

Arlene Huff is the founding member of Golden State Online. Before that She was a general assignment reporter. A native Californian, she graduated from the University of California with a degree in medical anthropology and global health. She currently lives in Los Angeles.