Even when it’s relatively mild, hearing loss can have a big impact on your life. There will be a significant change in the way you communicate with family, friends, and coworkers. It can become challenging to perform daily activities like going shopping. But it doesn’t need to have this type of negative impact on you. Quite the opposite, a well calibrated set of hearing aids can make a big difference.
Hearing aids improve your ability to hear, and that’s normally how most individuals think of them. And that’s not untrue. But how is the quality of life enhanced? What further benefits will hearing aids create?
Hearing aid’s top ten advantages
It’s kind of amazing, isn’t it, how we can so often produce top ten lists for anything? I bet you didn’t think you would be reading a top ten list about hearing aids when you woke 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 advantages of using hearing aids.
1. You will have improved relationships.
Strong communication is crucial to any good relationship. But when you have neglected hearing loss, communication can be a real challenge. But when you wear hearing aids, you’ll be able to hear the entire conversation without losing anything. You’ll be able to keep up with the conversation and get the entire story.
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 you will have an improvement in your relationships with family, friends, and coworkers. The link between hearing aids and relationships is a strong one!
2. You’ll have more independence
When you have untreated hearing loss, activities like shopping or eating out can be a real ordeal. When you’re unable to hear very well, communicating with wait staff or cashiers can be tricky. But with a pair of hearing aids, the whole process suddenly becomes a lot easier. You can navigate much more independently.
You’ll also be in a better position to drive safely. 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 might make more money
Think about this hypothetical scenario: if you’re losing large parts of what’s being talked about during meetings at work, your job performance will be affected negatively. This can result in diminished job prospects and being passed-up for promotions.
When you’re wearing properly tuned hearing aids, you will be less fatigued from struggling to hear, and following along with those meetings will be much easier. By doing this you can have an opportunity to boost your income by improving your ability to focus on work.
4. You’ll have reduced tinnitus symptoms
Tinnitus is that ringing or buzzing in the ear that most of us have experienced now and then. When you suffer from hearing loss, tinnitus can often be felt much more intensely (there are a host of explanations for this, sometimes the tinnitus is only relatively noisier because everything else is so quiet, for example).
With a hearing aid, many individuals observe that they experience reduced tinnitus symptoms. The louder overall external sound provided by the hearing aid may be, in some cases, just drowning out the tinnitus symptoms. But relief is relief.
5. Decreased chance of cognitive decline
Hearing loss and cognitive issues are firmly linked. Your chance of developing cognitive decline can be significantly increased by neglecting hearing loss, for example. There are many hypotheses about why this might be, but the end result is that managing your hearing loss seems to help! 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. Music can once again be enjoyed
It’s tough to enjoy music, in its whole entirety, when you have hearing loss. That’s because hearing loss tends to effect one wavelength of sound first, then another. For example, you may be unable to pick up low frequencies. The music you used to like, as a result, may sound… different.
With your hearing aids, though, those missing gaps in the music will be filled in, and you can enjoy music again! You’ll hear all of the frequencies and your music won’t sound so muffled. It can be an incredible relief to hear your favorite tune again.
7. You’ll get a boost of confidence
Having better hearing and interacting more completely will boost your confidence. And who doesn’t like confidence?
This isn’t to say that hearing loss should rob you of your confidence. We’re just saying that you might find yourself having a hard time interacting with others, particularly if your hearing loss is new.
A hearing aid can make those connections easier again. And when that takes place, confidence will grow.
8. Your energy will be higher
If your hearing impairment has been gradually advancing, your brain has likely been working overtime. The audio gaps that your hearing loss is producing will try to be filled in by your brain because it doesn’t recognize that your ears aren’t working. That’s… a lot of work! And it means that your brain is working (and strained) almost all the time.
When you get a hearing aid, you’re giving your brain a chance to relax and recharge. It will have less work to do. With this, constant tiredness and fatigue will be minimized. You’ll enjoy doing the things that are exciting for you with this increased energy.
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. Normally, you would hear oncoming traffic before you step out into the road. Before you look up into your rearview mirror, you would usually hear the oncoming sirens.
If your hearing loss is recent, or you aren’t conscious of it, you may presume that some scenarios are safe when they really aren’t. And that can be a dangerous proposition.
This lost awareness will be recovered by using hearing aids. So you’ll be capable of making smarter, safer choices.
10. You’ll be a positive example!
Change can be difficult, and personal growth still harder. When you invest in a hearing aid, you’re accepting that something isn’t actually working properly anymore. But you’re also attempting to better the situation.
There’s nothing wrong with that! It’s the sort of thing we should all strive for! So when you put in your hearing aids, you’re making yourself a positive example and role model. You should be proud of yourself.
Schedule an appointment for a hearing test right away
When you use hearing aids you will hear better and that’s the main benefit. That goes without saying. But there are lots of benefits to using hearing aids. This top ten list is in no way exhaustive.
Your top ten list might look a little different. No matter what advantages you look forward to the most, the first step is making an appointment with us to have your hearing checked.