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We hear to help us stay alert of the world around us in addition to allowing us to hear the people in our lives. However, sound can bring us to a full range of emotions from happy to sad. This means that when hearing loss sets in, it is no surprise that it affects our overall mood and may even change how we interact with the world on an emotional level, day after day.
Sounds that Trigger a Fear Response
Like all our senses, our hearing helps us connect to the world and develop emotional responses. In fact, Dr. Maria N. Geffen, Assistant Professor of Otorhinolaryngology at the University of Pennsylvania explains that “Emotions are closely linked to perception and very often our emotional response really helps us deal with reality. For example, a fear response helps you escape potentially dangerous situations and react quickly. But there are also situations where things can go wrong in the way fear response develops. That’s what happens in anxiety and also in PTSD – the emotional response to the events is generalized to the point where fear response starts getting developed to a very broad range of stimuli.”
Sounds That Trigger Joy
At the same time the sounds in our life can help stimulate joy in our life. For instance, a 2006 French study found that “dopamine is essential in maintaining the health of auditory nerve neurons and the way they respond to sound stimulation.” Meanwhile, a separate study based in Zurich, found that music and emotional responses were incredibly linked: “Because emotions enhance memory processes and music evokes strong emotions, music could be involved in forming memories, either about pieces of music or about episodes and information associated with particular music.”
The Role of Dopamine for our Hearing
Dopamine is a chemical released in the brain that makes you feel good, which impacts both body and mind. While our ears collect sounds, the process of hearing occurs in the brain’s auditory cortex. This is where speech and sound are interpreted and processed. Hearing loss occurs when damage occurs between the ears and the brain limiting the amount of sounds you can receive. This can limit what we can hear in conversations, in our environment and even the way we listen to our favorite music. As we receive less auditory information to our brain due to hearing loss, we may also receive less dopamine. This means we have less experiences of joy in our life, palpably depriving us of sounds and experiences we love.
Hearing Loss and Depression
For instance, when we struggle to communicate with the people in our life that bring us joy, it is no surprise that our overall mood will be affected—especially because hearing loss is an irreversible condition which often only becomes more severe over time. To better understand this connection, a Canadian study based out of McGill University discovered that low dopamine levels were directly connected to fatigue, mood swings, and lack of motivation. This was particularly true for people who identified as extroverts and gained energy from social interactions. As hearing loss progresses, it becomes increasingly more difficult and takes more mental focus to maintain even basic communication. Social interactions which may have empowered an individual previous to notable hearing loss, may transform into sources of stress and social anxiety, affecting overall mood for the long run.
Positively Act Around a Hearing Loss
While there is currently no way to reverse hearing loss, it can be treated effectively using hearing aids. These tiny digital devices fit in or around the ear and amplify the sounds you struggle with. For people struggling with severe depression and isolation due to unaddressed hearing loss, hearing aids are often the key to getting back to the person you felt you used to be before hearing loss. They can help you to be alert and aware during conversation, making socialization easier and fun again. People report feeling more likely to try new things and pursue the hobbies and interests they’ve always loved when they commit to hearing aids. Do you suspect you could benefit from hearing aids? It can never hurt to schedule a hearing exam and find out for sure! Contact us today.