Hearing loss can really effect the way you live, even when it’s minor. The way you connect with friends, coworkers, and family members can change dramatically. It can become a challenge to complete daily activities like going shopping. But that doesn’t mean it needs to be all doom and gloom. On the contrary, a well calibrated set of hearing aids can make a big difference.
Most individuals tend to think of those advantages in a really linear sort of way: Hearing aids help you hear better. And that’s true. But how do hearing aids improve quality of life? Just how far do the benefits of hearing aids go?
Hearing aid’s top ten benefits
We people just love creating top ten lists. I bet you didn’t think you would be reading a top ten list about hearing aids when you woke up this morning. Well, perhaps you did if you’ve been coping with your hearing loss for a while.
So here are the top ten advantages of wearing hearing aids.
1. Your relationships will get better
For any relationship to be strong, strong communication is crucial. But communication can be challenging when you have untreated hearing loss. With hearing aids, you’ll finally hear more than little bits of conversation. 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 go on without you. So your overall relationships, amongst your friends, co-workers, and loved ones, will improve. The connection between hearing aids and relationships is a strong one!
2. You’ll have greater independence
Shopping at the grocery store or going to a restaurant when you have untreated hearing loss can be an ordeal. Trying to communicate with wait staff and cashiers can be difficult when you can’t hear that well. But with a set of hearing aids, the entire process quickly becomes much easier. You can navigate much more independently.
You’ll also be in a better position to drive safely. That’s because your general situational awareness will be increased by your hearing aids. When you hear more of the world, you’ll be capable of doing more without any help, and you’ll be able to do it without as much anxiety.
3. You could make more money
Think about this hypothetical scenario: if you’re in a meeting at work and miss a lot of what’s said, you may not execute your job quite as well. This can result in reduced job opportunities and being passed-up for promotions.
When you’re wearing precisely calibrated hearing aids, you will be less fatigued 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 grow your income.
4. Your tinnitus symptoms will lessen
Tinnitus is that buzzing or ringing in the ear that most of us have experienced now and then. Tinnitus symptoms will frequently be more extreme and frequent with hearing loss (there are a number 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 provided by the hearing aid could be, in some situations, just drowning out the tinnitus symptoms. But relief is relief.
5. Lower risk of mental decline
There is a solid link between cognitive decline and hearing impairment. Your risk of developing dementia can be seriously elevated by disregarding hearing loss, for example. There are many hypotheses about why this may be, but the bottom line is that treating your hearing loss seems to be helpful! That’s why it’s important to be sure you wear your hearing aids. You could be helping your brain health!
6. You can appreciate music again
It’s tough to enjoy music, in its whole entirety, when you have hearing loss. That’s because hearing loss is likely to effect one wavelength of sound first, then another. For instance, you might be unable to hear low frequencies. The music you used to like, as a result, may sound… different.
You will be able to appreciate music again with your hearing aids replacing missing sound. You’ll get the high notes and the low notes, instead of only one or the other (or a garbled mess). Hearing your favorite song again can be extremely enjoyable.
7. Your confidence will grow
Having better hearing and interacting more completely will boost your confidence. And who doesn’t like confidence?
This is not to say that hearing impairment should take away your confidence. We’re just saying that you might find yourself having a hard time interacting with others, especially if your hearing loss is new.
Those interactions can become easier again when you use hearing aids. And when that takes place, confidence will grow.
8. Your energy will be higher
Your brain is probably working extra hard if your hearing loss is gradually progressing. The audio gaps that your hearing loss is creating will try to be filled in by your brain because it doesn’t recognize that your ears aren’t functioning. That’s hard work. And it means that your brain is working (and strained) almost constantly.
Your brain gets to recharge and relax when you wear a hearing aid. It will have less work to do. With this, continuous exhaustion and fatigue will be minimized. You’ll have more vitality to do the things you enjoy doing!
9. Being more conscious of your surroundings will keep you safer
You may not have adjusted to your hearing loss, especially if it’s new. You’re used to hearing traffic before you step out into the road. Before you look in your rearview mirror, you would normally hear the oncoming sirens.
If your hearing loss is new, or you aren’t aware of it, you may assume that some scenarios are safe when they actually aren’t. That can put you in some very unsafe situations.
Hearing aids will help reestablish that lost awareness. So you’ll be capable of making smarter, safer choices.
10. You’ll be a positive example!
Change can be hard, and personal growth still harder. You’re admitting that things aren’t functioning effectively now when you get a hearing aid. But you’re also trying to better the situation.
There’s nothing wrong with that! We should all strive for this type of thing, right? So you’re becoming a role model and a positive example when you wear your hearing aids. (It’s fine, you can blush a bit, you deserve it.)
Schedule a hearing exam right away
The main benefit of hearing aids is that you get to enjoy hearing better. That one’s obvious. But there are lots of benefits to using hearing aids. This top ten list is certainly not exhaustive.
You may have a completely different top ten list. Scheduling an appointment with us for a hearing exam is the first step no matter what advantages you look forward to.
