Hearing loss can seriously impact the way you live, even when it’s minor. The way you connect with friends, coworkers, and loved ones can change dramatically. Daily tasks like going to the supermarket can grow more challenging. But that doesn’t mean it has to be all doom and gloom. If you utilize a well calibrated hearing aid, it can make a huge difference.
Most people normally think of those advantages in a really linear sort of way: Hearing aids help you hear better. And that’s true. But how is the quality of life improved? What further benefits will hearing aids deliver?
Hearing aid’s top ten benefits
We humans just love making top ten lists. When you woke up today, did you think you’d be reading a top ten list about hearing aids? Well, perhaps you did if you’ve been coping with your hearing loss for a while.
So, what are the top ten advantages linked to using your hearing aid? Here they are!
1. You will have better relationships.
Strong communication is crucial to any great relationship. But when you have neglected hearing loss, communication can be challenging. 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 entire story.
You won’t be resentful and feel left out of conversations. So you will have an improvement in your relationships with family members, friends, and colleagues. There is a strong connection between relationships and hearing aids!
2. You’ll be more independent
When you have untreated hearing loss, activities such as shopping or eating out can be a real ordeal. Attempting to communicate with wait staff and cashiers can be challenging when you can’t hear that well. But with a pair of hearing aids, the whole process quickly becomes much easier. You can navigate much more independently.
You’ll also be better able to drive safely. That’s because your hearing aids will enhance your total situational awareness (more on that in a bit). You will be less anxious about doing things by yourself when you’re able to hear the world more clearly.
3. You might make more money
Consider this hypothetical situation: if you’re attending a meeting at work and miss a lot of what’s discussed, you might not do your job adequately. This can lead to passed promotions or even dicey job opportunities.
When you’re wearing properly tuned hearing aids, you will be less exhausted from straining to hear, and keeping up with those meetings will be much easier. This can improve your focus on work and put you in a stronger position to increase your income.
4. Your tinnitus symptoms will lessen
Tinnitus is one of those things that most people have experienced now and again; it’s that buzzing or ringing in your ear. When you suffer from hearing loss, tinnitus can usually be experienced much more intensely (there are a host of explanations for this, sometimes the tinnitus is only relatively louder because everything else is so quiet, for example).
Many people observe that their tinnitus symptoms ease up when they use a hearing aid. In these circumstances, that’s because the hearing aid is overpowering the sound of the tinnitus. But we will take relief whenever we can, right?
5. Reduced chance of cognitive decline
Hearing loss and cognitive issues are definitely linked. Your risk of developing cognitive decline can be significantly increased by disregarding hearing loss, for instance. There are numerous hypotheses about why this may be, but the bottom line is that managing your hearing loss seems to be helpful! 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 appreciated
It’s hard to enjoy music, in its whole entirety, when you have hearing impairment. That’s because hearing loss tends to effect one wavelength of sound first, then another. For example, you may be unable to hear low frequencies. The music you used to like, consequently, might sound… different.
You will be able to appreciate music again with your hearing aids filling in the missing sound. You’ll hear all of the frequencies and your music won’t sound so garbled. It can be an incredible relief to hear your favorite song again.
7. Your confidence will improve
Having better hearing and interacting more completely will boost your confidence. And who doesn’t like confidence?
We’re not implying that you shouldn’t be confident just because you have hearing loss. It’s just that, particularly if that hearing loss is new, you may suddenly find it a challenge to interact with people in the same ways you always have.
A hearing aid can make those connections easier again. And when that happens, confidence will improve.
8. Your vitality will be higher
Your brain is most likely working extra hard if your hearing loss is slowly progressing. The audio holes that your hearing loss is producing will try to be filled in by your brain because it doesn’t know that your ears aren’t working. That’s… a lot of work! And it means that your brain is struggling (and strained) almost constantly.
Your brain gets to recharge and unwind when you use a hearing aid. It won’t need to work as hard. Which means you won’t feel so continually tired and drained. 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 environment
If your hearing loss is recent, you might not yet have fully adapted. Normally, you would hear approaching traffic before you step out into the street. You’re accustomed to hearing the ambulance siren before you look in the rearview mirror.
If your hearing loss is recent, or you aren’t conscious of it, you may presume that some situations are safe when they actually aren’t. That can put you in some really unsafe situations.
Hearing aids will help reestablish that lost awareness. 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. You’re admitting that things aren’t working properly now when you get a hearing aid. But you’re also attempting to better the situation.
That’s a positive thing! We should all strive for this type of thing, right? So you’re becoming a role model and a positive example when you use your hearing aids. (It’s okay, you can blush a bit, you deserve it.)
Schedule a hearing exam right away
The biggest advantage of hearing aids is that you get to enjoy hearing better. That one’s obvious. But as you know, there are lots of immediate benefits of hearing aids! This top ten list is in no way exhaustive.
Your top ten list might look a little different. Making an appointment with us for a hearing test is the first step no matter what benefits you look forward to.