Everyone loves the concept of a miracle cure that helps you live longer. In fact, a quick internet search will probably return thousands of such miracle remedies (if not more), each promising to help you have a longer life thanks to one simple trick. The healthcare community doesn’t back most of these alleged cures as they have no real medical foundation.
Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything to positively impact your lifespan. For instance, eating a healthy diet (specifically one low in sodium and saturated fats) or quitting smoking can substantially impact your expected lifespan.
This is also true of treating hearing loss by using hearing aids. That’s in line with a recent study published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, a multidisciplinary publication devoted to healthy aging. So, will wearing hearing aids to manage hearing loss help improve longevity? There’s a strong possibility that it will according to this research.
Does hearing loss pose a threat to your health?
Researchers have been aware of the relationship between overall wellness and hearing health for quite some time. For instance, it has been well demonstrated that neglected hearing loss can substantially raise your risk of cognitive decline later in life.
These risks, however, are largely unknown by most people. They think that hearing loss will only influence one facet of their lives and is a mere inconvenience. But when left untreated, hearing loss can pose greater health concerns than a simple inconvenience.
The link between lifespan and hearing loss
In most instances, treatment for hearing loss means wearing hearing aids as often as possible. So does this mean that you can reduce your risk of early death by using hearing aids? According to this most recent research, possibly. The study found that regular hearing aid use was linked to a 24% decrease in mortality risk. The participants in this study, in other words, who used their hearing aids, tended to live longer.
Hearing aid advantages
Though The Lancet Healthy Longevity study strongly indicates a relationship between hearing health and lifespan, it doesn’t definitely prove that wearing hearing aids will help you live longer. But we already have a large body of evidence about the many advantages of using hearing aids and this just adds to that body.
- Cognition can be improved by using hearing aids. Over time, your brain will be healthier and less tired from straining to hear.
- Social engagements can become substantially easier. This will help your general well-being by decreasing your feelings of social isolation.
- You might also be more mindful of your surroundings. This can help prevent accidents, injuries, and mishaps.
- From enjoying caring moments with your grandkids to taking part in a business dinner, daily situations with friends, family, and colleagues will be easier.
These are improvements to your quality of life that you’ll experience every time you wear your hearing aids. These are all great reasons to use hearing aids to treat your hearing loss.
Hearing is an essential part of your health and wellness
Scientists have established that the health of your hearing plays a significant role in your total wellness. Your risk of early mortality can be diminished by managing any hearing loss you might have with hearing aids.
Seeing a hearing specialist can help you identify whether you have hearing loss and the best way to treat it.