Hearing loss can really impact how you live, even when it’s minor. The way you interact with friends, coworkers, and loved ones can change drastically. Daily activities like going to the grocery store can become more difficult. 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 huge difference.
Most people tend to think of those advantages in a very linear sort of way: Hearing aids help you hear better. And that’s not untrue. But how is the quality of life enhanced? Just how far do the benefits of hearing aids go?
The top ten reasons to get hearing aids
It’s kind of amazing, isn’t it, how humans 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. I mean, if you’ve known about your hearing loss for a while… perhaps you did!
So here are the top ten benefits of wearing hearing aids.
1. Your relationships will get better
For any relationship to be strong, strong communication is indispensable. But communication can be challenging when you have untreated hearing loss. With hearing aids, you’ll finally hear more than little snippets of conversation. You’ll be able to follow along with the conversation and get the whole story.
You won’t be resentful and feel excluded from conversations. So your general relationships, among your friends, co-workers, and loved ones, will improve. There is a strong link between relationships and hearing aids!
2. You’ll be more independent
Shopping at the supermarket or going to a restaurant when you have untreated hearing loss can be an ordeal. When you can’t hear very well, communicating with cashiers and wait staff can be challenging. But with a pair of hearing aids, the whole process quickly becomes much easier. You can get around a lot more independently.
You’ll also be in a better position to drive safely. That’s because your hearing aids will enhance your total situational awareness (more on that later). When you hear more of the world, you’ll be able to do more by yourself, and you’ll be able to do it without as much anxiety.
3. Stronger hearing may lead to higher pay
Let’s chuck out a hypothetical: if you’re attending a meeting at work and miss a lot of what’s discussed, you might not do your job quite as well. This can lead to decreased job opportunities and being passed-up for promotions.
When you’re wearing properly tuned hearing aids, you will be less fatigued from struggling to hear, and keeping up with those meetings will be a lot easier. By doing this you can have a chance to boost your income by increasing your ability to focus on work.
4. Your tinnitus symptoms will decrease
Tinnitus is that ringing or buzzing in the ear that the majority of us have experienced now and then. When you suffer from hearing loss, tinnitus can frequently 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 report that their tinnitus symptoms ease up when they use a hearing aid. The louder overall external sound supplied by the hearing aid may be, in some cases, just drowning out the tinnitus symptoms. But relief is relief.
5. Reduced chance of cognitive decline
There is a solid link between cognitive decline and hearing impairment. Your chance of developing cognitive decline can be seriously elevated by neglecting hearing loss, for example. There are many theories about why this may be, but the bottom line is that treating your hearing loss seems to help! That’s why it’s essential to be certain you wear your hearing aids. You might be giving your brain a greater chance of staying healthy longer.
6. Music can once again be appreciated
When you have hearing loss music is harder to hear clearly. That’s because hearing loss is likely to impact one wavelength of sound first, then another. Maybe you’re unable to hear low frequencies, for example. 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 get the high notes and the low notes, instead of only one or the other (or a garbled mess). It can be an incredible relief to hear your favorite tune again.
7. Your confidence will improve
Being able to hear better and interact more thoroughly will boost your confidence. And who doesn’t like confidence?
This isn’t to say that hearing impairment should take away your confidence. It’s just that, particularly if that hearing loss is recent, you could suddenly find it challenging to interact with others in the same ways you always have.
Those connections can become easier again when you use hearing aids. And that can lead to improved confidence.
8. Your vitality will be higher
Your brain is probably working overtime if your hearing loss is slowly advancing. The audio gaps that your hearing loss is producing will try to be filled in by your brain because it doesn’t understand that your ears aren’t working. That’s hard work. And so, your brain is under persistent strain.
Your brain gets to recharge and relax when you use a hearing aid. It won’t need to work so hard. With this, continuous exhaustion and weariness will be reduced. You’ll have more energy to do the things you love to do!
9. Being more conscious of your surroundings will keep you safer
If your hearing loss is new, you may not yet have entirely adapted. Normally, you would hear oncoming traffic before you step out into the street. 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 might assume that some scenarios are safe when they actually aren’t. That can put you in some really dangerous situations.
This lost awareness will be restored by using hearing aids. So you’ll be capable of making wiser, less dangerous choices.
10. You will set a good example!
Change can be hard, and personal growth still harder. You’re admitting that things aren’t functioning properly now when you invest in a hearing aid. But you’re also trying to improve the situation.
There’s nothing wrong with that! We should all strive for this type of thing, right? So when you pop in your hearing aids, you’re making yourself a positive example and role model. (It’s fine, you can blush a bit, you deserve it.)
Schedule an appointment for a hearing aid discovery test right away
When you use hearing aids you will hear better and that’s the main benefit. 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 may look a little different. Making an appointment with us for a hearing aid discovery test is the first step no matter what advantages you look forward to.