Even when it’s somewhat mild, hearing loss can have a major impact on your life. The way you interact with friends, coworkers, and family members can change substantially. Everyday activities like going to the supermarket can become more challenging. But that doesn’t mean it needs to be all doom and gloom. On the contrary, a well adjusted pair of hearing aids can make a big difference.
Hearing aids help you hear better, and that’s normally how most people think of them. And that’s true. But how is the quality of life improved? What further advantages will hearing aids deliver?
Hearing aid’s top ten advantages
It’s sort of fascinating, isn’t it, how people can so often put together top ten lists for everything? I bet you didn’t think you would be reading a top ten list about hearing aids when you got up this morning. Well, maybe 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
Strong communication is critical to any good relationship. But communication can be difficult when you have untreated hearing loss. But when you use hearing aids, you’ll be capable of hearing the whole conversation without missing anything. You’ll hear everything, you’ll get the full story, and you’ll be capable of keeping up with the conversation.
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 your overall relationships, amongst your friends, co-workers, and family members, will improve. There is a strong link between relationships and hearing aids!
2. You’ll have more independence
When you have neglected hearing loss, tasks like shopping or dining out can be a real ordeal. Attempting to communicate with wait staff and cashiers can be difficult when you can’t hear very well. But with a set of hearing aids, the whole process suddenly becomes much easier. You’ll have much more independence when you navigate the world around you.
Driving will also be safer. That’s because your hearing aids will improve your overall situational awareness (more on that in a bit). 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 with less anxiety.
3. You could make more money
Let’s chuck out a hypothetical: if you’re in a meeting at work and miss half of what’s said, you may not do your job quite as well. This can result in diminished job prospects and being passed-up for promotions.
When you’re wearing precisely calibrated hearing aids, you will be less exhausted from struggling to hear, and keeping up with those meetings will be much easier. This can increase your focus on work and put you in a better position to grow your income.
4. You’ll have decreased tinnitus symptoms
Tinnitus is one of those things that most people have experienced at times; it’s that ringing or buzzing in your ear. Tinnitus symptoms will usually be more extreme and frequent with hearing loss (there are a host of explanations for this, sometimes the tinnitus is just relatively louder because everything else is so quiet, for example).
Many individuals report that their tinnitus symptoms decrease when they use a hearing aid. The louder overall outside sound provided by the hearing aid could be, in some cases, just drowning out the tinnitus symptoms. But we will take relief whenever we can, right?
5. Decreased risk of cognitive decline
There is a solid connection between mental decline and hearing impairment. Your risk of developing dementia can be seriously elevated by disregarding hearing loss, for instance. There are lots of hypotheses about why this may be, but the bottom line is that treating your hearing loss appears to be helpful! That’s why it’s important to make sure you use your hearing aids. You could be helping your brain health!
6. You can enjoy music again
When you have hearing loss music is more difficult to hear clearly. That’s because one frequency of sound usually goes before the others. For instance, you might be unable to hear low frequencies. The music you used to like, as a result, might sound… different.
You will be able to enjoy 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 garbled. It can be an incredible relief to hear your favorite tune again.
7. Your confidence will grow
Your confidence will be enhanced when you can hear better and have more effective interactions. And confidence is a great thing.
We’re not implying that you shouldn’t have confidence just because you deal with hearing loss. It’s just that, especially if that hearing loss is new, you might suddenly find it difficult to interact with people in the same ways you usually do.
Those connections can become easier again with hearing aids. And when that takes place, confidence will improve.
8. Your vitality will be increased
If your hearing loss has been gradually developing, your brain has likely been working harder. That’s because your brain doesn’t realize your ears aren’t working right, so it’s constantly trying to fill in the audio holes that your hearing impairment has produced. That’s hard work. And so, your brain is under continual strain.
When you invest in a hearing aid, you’re giving your brain the opportunity to relax and recharge. It will have less work to accomplish. Which means you won’t feel so continually tired and drained. You’ll have more energy to do the things you enjoy doing!
9. You’ll be safer and more mindful of your surroundings
You might not have adjusted to your hearing loss, especially if it’s new. You’re used to being able to hear oncoming traffic before you step out into the road. You’re used to hearing the emergency siren before you look in the rearview mirror.
You might assume certain situations are safe when, because you’re unaware of your hearing loss, or you’ve ignored it, they actually aren’t. That can put you in some really dangerous scenarios.
This lost awareness will be recovered by using hearing aids. So you’ll be capable of making wiser, safer choices.
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 admitting that something isn’t actually working properly anymore. But you’re also attempting to improve the situation.
That’s a positive thing! It’s the kind of thing we should all strive for! 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
When you use hearing aids you will hear better and that’s the main benefit. That goes without saying. But there are plenty of advantages to using hearing aids. This top ten list is by no means complete.
You might have an entirely different top ten list. Scheduling an appointment with us for a hearing assessment is the first step no matter what advantages you look forward to.