Hearing loss can seriously effect the way you live, even when it’s minor. There will be a dramatic change in the way you communicate with family, friends, and coworkers. Daily activities like going to the grocery store can become more challenging. But that doesn’t mean it has to be all doom and gloom. If you use a well adjusted hearing aid, it can make a huge difference.
Hearing aids help you hear better, and that’s usually how most individuals think of them. And that’s true. But how is the quality of life improved? What further advantages will hearing aids deliver?
The top ten reasons to get hearing aids
It’s sort of fascinating, isn’t it, how people can so often come up with 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 dealing with your hearing loss for a while.
So here are the top ten advantages of using hearing aids.
1. You will have better relationships.
Great communication is critical to any good relationship. But communication can be challenging when you have neglected hearing loss. But when you use hearing aids, you’ll be capable of hearing the entire conversation without losing anything. You’ll be able to keep up with the conversation and get the whole story.
You won’t be resentful and feel left out of conversations. So you will have an improvement in your relationships with family, friends, and coworkers. The link between hearing aids and relationships is a powerful one!
2. You’ll be more independent
Shopping at the grocery store or going to a restaurant when you have untreated hearing loss can be an ordeal. Attempting to communicate with wait staff and cashiers can be difficult when you can’t hear that well. But with a pair of hearing aids, the entire process suddenly becomes a lot easier. You’ll have a lot more independence when you move around the world around you.
Driving will also be less hazardous. That’s because your overall situational awareness will be improved by your hearing aids. When you hear more of the world, you’ll be capable of doing more by yourself, and you’ll be able to do it with less anxiety.
3. You could make more money
Consider this hypothetical scenario: if you’re attending a meeting at work and miss half of what’s said, you may not do your job quite as well. This can lead to decreased job prospects and being passed-up for promotions.
When you’re wearing properly calibrated hearing aids, you will be less fatigued from straining to hear, and keeping up with those meetings will be much easier. By doing this you can have an opportunity to raise your income by improving your ability to focus on work.
4. You’ll have reduced tinnitus symptoms
Tinnitus is one of those things that most individuals have experienced from time to time; it’s that ringing or buzzing in your ear. When you suffer from hearing loss, tinnitus can usually be experienced much more powerfully (tinnitus is sometimes more noticeable with hearing loss simply because everything else is quieter, but there may also be other reasons too).
With a hearing aid, many individuals note that they experience diminished tinnitus symptoms. The louder overall external sound supplied by the hearing aid might be, in some cases, simply drowning out the tinnitus symptoms. But relief is relief.
5. Less chance of developing dementia
Hearing loss and cognitive decline are definitely connected. For instance, untreated hearing loss can significantly raise your chance of developing dementia. There are lots of hypotheses about why this may be, but the end result is that managing your hearing loss seems to help! That’s why it isn’t a good idea to forget to put in your hearing aid. You might be giving your brain a better chance of staying healthy longer.
6. Music can once again be enjoyed
It’s hard to appreciate music, in its full entirety, when you suffer from hearing loss. That’s because one frequency of sound typically goes before the others. For example, you might be unable to pick up low frequencies. As a result, the song you used to enjoy might just sound… weird.
With your hearing aids, however, those missing gaps in the music will be filled in, and you can enjoy music again! You’ll get the high notes and the low notes, instead of just one or the other (or a muffled mess). Hearing your favorite song again can be extremely enjoyable.
7. You’ll get an increase in confidence
Your confidence will be enhanced when you can hear better and have more successful interactions. And confidence is a wonderful thing.
This isn’t to say that hearing impairment should take away your confidence. It’s just that, especially if that hearing loss is new, you could suddenly find it a challenge to interact with people in the same ways you always have.
Those interactions can become easier again when you use hearing aids. And when that happens, confidence will grow.
8. Your vitality will be higher
Your brain is probably working overtime if your hearing loss is gradually advancing. That’s because your brain doesn’t know your ears aren’t working correctly, so it’s constantly attempting to fill in the audio holes that your hearing loss has produced. 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 a chance to relax and refresh. It won’t have to work as hard. Which means you won’t feel so constantly exhausted and drained. You’ll have more vitality to do the things you enjoy doing!
9. You’ll be safer and more mindful of your surroundings
You might not have adapted to your hearing loss, particularly if it’s new. You’re used to being able to hear traffic before you step out into the street. Before you look up into your rearview mirror, you would ordinarily hear the oncoming sirens.
If your hearing loss is new, or you aren’t conscious of it, you might assume that some scenarios are safe when they actually aren’t. That can put you in some really unsafe scenarios.
Hearing aids will help restore that lost awareness. Your decision making will be wiser and safer.
10. You’ll be a positive example!
The one thing that can be even more difficult than change is personal growth. When you get a hearing aid, you’re accepting that something isn’t necessarily working properly anymore. But you’re also trying to improve the situation.
That’s a positive thing! We should all strive for this type of thing, right? So you’re acting as a role model and a positive example when you wear your hearing aids. (It’s okay, you can blush a bit, you deserve it.)
Schedule an appointment for a hearing exam right away
The biggest benefit of hearing aids is that you get to experience hearing better. That one’s obvious. But there are plenty of benefits to using hearing aids. This top ten list is just that, one little list of just ten of these benefits.
Your top ten list might look a little different. Making an appointment with us for a hearing exam is the first step no matter what advantages you look forward to.