Even when it’s relatively mild, hearing loss can have a huge impact on your life. There will be a dramatic change in the way you connect with loved ones, friends, and coworkers. It can become a challenge to perform daily activities such as going shopping. But that doesn’t mean it has to be all doom and gloom. On the contrary, a well calibrated set of hearing aids can make a huge difference.
Hearing aids help you hear better, and that’s typically how most people think of them. And that’s not untrue. But how is the quality of life improved? What further benefits will hearing aids deliver?
The top ten reasons to get hearing aids
We people just love making top ten lists. 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 benefits of wearing hearing aids.
1. Your relationships will improve
For any relationship to be great, good communication is essential. But communication can be problematic when you have neglected hearing loss. But when you wear hearing aids, you’ll be able to hear the entire conversation without missing anything. You’ll hear everything, you’ll get the full story, and you’ll be able to keep up with the conversation.
You won’t be resentful and feel left out of conversations. So you will have an improvement in your relationships with family, friends, and colleagues. There is a strong connection between relationships and hearing aids!
2. You’ll be more independent
When you’re dealing with untreated hearing loss, activities such as shopping or dining out can be a real ordeal. Trying to communicate with wait staff and cashiers can be difficult when you can’t hear that well. But the whole process gets easier when you have hearing aids. 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 hearing aids will increase your all-around situational awareness (more on that in a bit). You will be less anxious about doing things on your own when you can hear the world more clearly.
3. You might make more money
Consider this hypothetical scenario: if you’re in a meeting at work and miss half of what’s said, you might not do your job quite as well. This can lead to lost promotions or even dicey job prospects.
With your hearing aids securely in place and working properly, you’ll be able to follow along with meetings, and you won’t be so tired all the time from struggling to hear. By doing this you can have a chance to raise your income by increasing your ability to focus on work.
4. You’ll have decreased tinnitus symptoms
Tinnitus is that ringing or buzzing in the ear that most of us have experienced now and then. When you have hearing loss, tinnitus can usually be felt much more intensely (there are a number of reasons for this, sometimes the tinnitus is just relatively louder because everything else is so quiet, for instance).
Many people observe that their tinnitus symptoms decrease when they use a hearing aid. In these instances, that’s because the hearing aid is drowning out the sound of the tinnitus. But relief is relief.
5. Less chance of developing dementia
Hearing loss and cognitive issues are definitely connected. For instance, neglected hearing loss can seriously elevate your chance of developing dementia. Treating hearing loss appears to be helpful, though there are numerous theories as to why. That’s why it’s not 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 have hearing loss music is harder to hear clearly. That’s because hearing loss tends to effect one wavelength of sound first, then another. For example, you might be unable to hear low frequencies. As a result, the song you once enjoyed may just sound… weird.
You will be able to enjoy music again with your hearing aids filling in the missing sound. You’ll get the high notes and the low notes, instead of just one or the other (or a muffled mess). It can be an incredible relief to hear your favorite band again.
7. Your confidence will grow
Your confidence will be enhanced when you can hear better and have more effective interactions. And who doesn’t want confidence?
We’re not implying that you shouldn’t be confident simply because you deal with hearing loss. It’s just that, particularly if that hearing loss is recent, you may suddenly find it difficult to interact with people in the same ways you usually do.
A hearing aid can make those connections easier again. And when that takes place, confidence will grow.
8. Your vitality will be increased
Your brain is most likely working extra hard if your hearing loss is gradually advancing. 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 it means that your brain is working (and strained) almost constantly.
Your brain gets to refresh and unwind when you wear a hearing aid. It will have less work to accomplish. Which means you won’t feel so continually exhausted and depleted. You’ll have more vitality to do the things you enjoy doing!
9. Being more conscious of your surroundings will keep you safer
If your hearing loss is recent, you may not yet have completely adapted. Usually, you would hear oncoming traffic before you step out into the road. Before you look up into your rearview mirror, you would ordinarily hear the oncoming sirens.
If your hearing loss is recent, or you aren’t aware of it, you may presume that some situations are safe when they really aren’t. That can put you in some really unsafe situations.
This lost awareness will be recovered by using hearing aids. So you’ll be capable of making wiser, less dangerous decisions.
10. You’ll be a positive example!
The one thing that can be even more challenging than change is personal growth. When you invest in a hearing aid, you’re accepting that something isn’t necessarily working right anymore. But you’re also trying to improve the situation.
That’s a good thing! It’s the kind of thing we should all strive for! So when you put in your hearing aids, you’re setting yourself up as a positive example and role model. (It’s fine, you can blush a bit, you deserve it.)
Get your hearing checked as soon as you can
The biggest advantage of hearing aids is that you get to enjoy hearing better. That one’s obvious. But there are plenty of advantages to using hearing aids. This top ten list is only that, one little list of just ten of these advantages.
Your top ten list may look a little different. Making an appointment with us for a hearing assessment is the first step no matter what advantages you look forward to.