Hearing loss can really effect how you live, even when it’s mild. The way you connect with friends, coworkers, and family members can change drastically. Everyday tasks like going to the supermarket can grow more difficult. But that doesn’t mean it needs to be all doom and gloom. If you utilize a well adjusted hearing aid, it can make a big difference.
Most individuals tend to think of those benefits in a really linear sort of way: Hearing aids help you hear better. And that’s not untrue. But how do hearing aids enhance quality of life? Just how far do the advantages of hearing aids go?
Hearing aid’s top ten benefits
It’s sort of extraordinary, isn’t it, how we can so often come up with top ten lists for anything? When you woke up today, did you think you’d be reading a top ten list about hearing aids? Well, perhaps you did if you’ve been coping with your hearing loss for a while.
So, what are the top ten benefits associated with using your hearing aid? Here they are!
1. You will have improved relationships.
Strong communication is crucial to any great relationship. But communication can be challenging when you have neglected hearing loss. But when you use hearing aids, you’ll be able to hear the entire conversation without losing anything. You’ll be able to keep up with the conversation and get the whole story.
This also means you won’t feel excluded from the conversation, and you won’t feel resentful that the conversations carry on without you. So you will have an improvement in your relationships with family members, friends, and coworkers. The link between hearing aids and relationships is a powerful one!
2. You’ll be more independent
When you’re dealing with neglected hearing loss, activities like shopping or eating out can be a real ordeal. When you can’t hear very well, communicating with wait staff or cashiers can be difficult. But with a set of hearing aids, the whole process suddenly becomes much easier. You can get around much more independently.
Driving will also be less hazardous. That’s because your hearing aids will increase your all-around 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 without as much anxiety.
3. You might make more money
Let’s chuck out a hypothetical: if you’re attending a meeting at work and miss a lot of what’s discussed, you may not perform your job adequately. This can lead to lost promotions or even dicey job prospects.
When you’re wearing precisely tuned hearing aids, you will be less fatigued from straining to hear, and following along with those meetings will be much easier. This can increase your focus on work and put you in a stronger position to increase your income.
4. Your tinnitus symptoms will diminish
Tinnitus is that buzzing or ringing in the ear that most of us have experienced occasionally. When you have hearing loss, tinnitus can usually be experienced much more powerfully (there are a host of reasons for this, sometimes the tinnitus is just relatively noisier because everything else is so quiet, for example).
With a hearing aid, many people note that they experience diminished tinnitus symptoms. The louder overall external sound supplied by the hearing aid could be, in some cases, just drowning out the tinnitus symptoms. But relief is relief.
5. Less chance of developing dementia
There is a firm connection between cognitive decline and hearing loss. For instance, neglected hearing loss can significantly raise your chance of developing dementia. There are many hypotheses about why this may be, but the bottom line is that treating your hearing loss appears to help! That’s why it isn’t a good idea to forget to put in your hearing aid. You could be helping your brain health!
6. You can appreciate music again
When you suffer from hearing loss music is more difficult to hear clearly. That’s because hearing loss is likely to effect one frequency of sound first, then another. For instance, you may be unable to hear low frequencies. As a result, the song you used to enjoy might just sound… strange.
You will be able to enjoy music again with your hearing aids replacing missing sound. You’ll hear all of the frequencies and your music won’t sound so muffled. Hearing your favorite band again can be incredibly enjoyable.
7. Your confidence will improve
Being able to hear better and interact more completely will give you a boost of confidence. And confidence is a great thing.
We’re not implying that you shouldn’t have confidence simply because you have hearing loss. We’re simply saying that you may find yourself having a difficult time interacting with others, particularly if your hearing loss is new.
A hearing aid can make those connections easier again. And that can result in improved confidence.
8. You’ll have more energy
If your hearing loss has been slowly progressing, your brain has probably been working harder. The audio holes that your hearing loss is creating will try to be filled in by your brain because it doesn’t know that your ears aren’t functioning. That’s… a lot of work! And so, your brain is under constant strain.
Your brain gets to refresh and unwind when you wear a hearing aid. It won’t need to work as hard. Which means you won’t feel so continuously exhausted and drained. You’ll have more vitality to do the things you love to do!
9. Being more mindful of your surroundings will keep you safer
You may not have adapted to your hearing loss, particularly if it’s new. Normally, you would hear approaching traffic before you step out into the road. You’re accustomed to hearing the emergency siren before you check the rearview mirror.
You might assume certain situations are safe when, because you’re unaware of your hearing loss, or you’ve neglected it, they actually aren’t. That can put you in some very dangerous scenarios.
This lost awareness will be restored by using hearing aids. So you’ll be able to make smarter, less dangerous choices.
10. You will set a good example!
The one thing that can be even more challenging than change is personal growth. When you invest in a hearing aid, you’re acknowledging that something isn’t necessarily working right anymore. But you’re also trying to improve the situation.
That’s a positive thing! It’s the type of thing we should all work for! So you’re acting as a role model and a positive example when you use your hearing aids. (It’s okay, you can blush a bit, you deserve it.)
Get your hearing tested today
The main benefit of hearing aids is that you get to experience hearing better. That one’s obvious. But there are lots of benefits to using hearing aids. This top ten list is in no way exhaustive.
Your top ten list might look a little different. No matter what benefits you look forward to the most, the first step is making an appointment with us to have your hearing tested.