Hearing loss can seriously impact the way you live, even when it’s mild. The way you communicate with friends, coworkers, and loved ones can change drastically. Everyday activities like going to the supermarket can grow more challenging. But it doesn’t have to have this kind of negative impact on you. If you use a well adjusted hearing aid, it can make a huge difference.
Most people normally think of those benefits in a very linear sort of way: Hearing aids help you hear better. And that’s true. But how is the quality of life improved? Just how far do the benefits of hearing aids go?
Hearing aid’s top ten advantages
It’s sort of extraordinary, isn’t it, how people can so often put together top ten lists for anything? I bet you didn’t think you would be reading a top ten list about hearing aids when you woke up this morning. I mean, if you’ve been aware of your hearing loss for a while… perhaps you did!
So, what are the top ten benefits associated with using your hearing aid? Here they are!
1. You will have better relationships.
Strong communication is crucial to any good relationship. But communication can be difficult when you have untreated hearing loss. But when you wear hearing aids, you’ll be able to hear the entire conversation without losing anything. You’ll hear everything, you’ll get the full story, and you’ll be able to keep up with the conversation.
This also means you won’t feel excluded from the conversation, and you won’t feel resentful that the conversations continue without you. So your overall relationships, amongst your friends, co-workers, and family members, will improve. The connection between hearing aids and relationships is a powerful one!
2. You’ll be more independent
When you’re dealing with untreated hearing loss, tasks such as shopping or dining out can be a real ordeal. Attempting to communicate with wait staff and cashiers can be challenging when you can’t hear that well. But with a set of hearing aids, the entire process suddenly becomes a lot easier. You can get around a lot more independently.
Driving will also be less hazardous. That’s because your hearing aids will improve your total situational awareness (more on that later). When you hear more of the world, you’ll be capable of doing more on your own, and you’ll be able to do it with less anxiety.
3. You could make more money
Consider this hypothetical situation: if you’re attending a meeting at work and miss half of what’s discussed, you might not do your job adequately. This can lead to passed promotions or even dicey job prospects.
When you’re wearing precisely calibrated hearing aids, you will be less exhausted from straining to hear, and keeping up with those meetings will be a lot easier. This can increase your focus on work and put you in a better position to increase your income.
4. You’ll have decreased tinnitus symptoms
Tinnitus is that buzzing or ringing in the ear that most of us have experienced now and then. Tinnitus symptoms will frequently be more intense and frequent with hearing loss (tinnitus is sometimes louder with hearing loss simply because everything else is quieter, but there might also be other reasons too).
Many individuals observe that their tinnitus symptoms ease up when they wear a hearing aid. In these cases, that’s because the hearing aid is overpowering the sound of the tinnitus. But we will take relief where we can get it, right?
5. Reduced chance of mental decline
Hearing impairment and cognitive decline are strongly linked. Your chance of developing dementia can be significantly elevated by ignoring hearing loss, for instance. There are lots of hypotheses about why this might be, but the bottom line is that managing your hearing loss appears to be helpful! That’s why it’s not a good idea to forget to wear your hearing aid. You could be helping your brain health!
6. Music can once again be appreciated
It’s tough to appreciate music, in its whole entirety, when you suffer from hearing impairment. That’s because hearing loss is likely to impact one wavelength of sound first, then another. Maybe you’re unable to hear low frequencies, for instance. Because of this, the song you once enjoyed might just sound… strange.
You will be able to appreciate music again with your hearing aids filling in the missing sound. You’ll hear all of the frequencies and your music won’t sound so muffled. It can be an incredible relief to hear your favorite tune again.
7. You’ll get a boost of confidence
Having better hearing and interacting more completely will give you a boost of confidence. And confidence is a wonderful thing.
This isn’t to say that hearing impairment should rob you of your confidence. It’s just that, particularly if that hearing loss is recent, you could suddenly find it challenging to interact with people in the same ways you usually do.
A hearing aid can make those connections easier again. And when that takes place, confidence will improve.
8. You’ll have more energy
If your hearing impairment has been gradually developing, your brain has probably been working overtime. The audio holes that your hearing loss is producing will try to be filled in by your brain because it doesn’t recognize that your ears aren’t working. That’s… a lot of work! And so, your brain is under constant strain.
When you get a hearing aid, you’re giving your brain an opportunity to slow down and refresh. It will have less work to accomplish. Which means you won’t feel so consistently tired and drained. You’ll have more vitality to do the things you enjoy doing!
9. Being more conscious of your surroundings will keep you safer
If your hearing loss is new, you might not yet have fully adapted. Ordinarily, you would hear oncoming traffic before you step out into the street. Before you look up into your rearview mirror, you would usually hear the oncoming sirens.
If your hearing loss is recent, or you aren’t aware of it, you may presume that some situations are safe when they actually aren’t. That can put you in some very dangerous situations.
This lost awareness will be restored by using hearing aids. Your decision making will be wiser and less hazardous.
10. You will set a good example!
The one thing that can be even more challenging than change is personal growth. When you get a hearing aid, you’re accepting that something isn’t necessarily working right anymore. But you’re also attempting to improve the situation.
That’s a good thing! It’s the type of thing we should all work for! So when you put in your hearing aids, you’re making yourself a positive example and role model. (It’s fine, you can blush a bit, you deserve it.)
Have your hearing tested as soon as you can
The main advantage of hearing aids is that you get to experience hearing better. That goes without saying. But as you know, there are tons of immediate benefits of hearing aids! This top ten list is in no way exhaustive.
You may have an entirely different top ten list. No matter what benefits you look forward to the most, the first step is making an appointment with us to have your hearing checked.