Over the years, hearing aids have had a stigma. If you use one, people might think of you as old. The consequences?
Lots of people, both young and old, go without hearing aids and suffer needlessly from hearing loss, which is actually connected to several health concerns. The numbers reinforce this: 30 million people in the United States suffering from hearing loss, yet only around 15 percent of that population has ever used a hearing aid.
In addition, younger people are suffering from hearing loss in larger numbers than they ever have: a WHO report from 2015 forecasted that 1.1 billion teenagers and young adults would injure their hearing permanently due to over the top use of headphones and louder and louder music festivals.
Still, shifting attitudes and advanced technology have begun to frame hearing aids in a new light, and people are beginning to view them in a similar way they look at eye-glasses.
Why Should You Wear Hearing Aids
There are a lots of reasons why you should use hearing aids, some of them obvious and some of them surprising.
Some of the most common reasons are as follows:
- You’ll increase your earning power
- You’re brain won’t need to work as hard
- You won’t have to crank the music or TV up
- One of the obvious reasons would be that you will be able to hear better
- Conversations will be a lot smoother
- You can minimize tinnitus symptoms
- Social activities will be more satisfying
Do these sound like beneficial reasons to you? Even somebody with slight hearing damage can get some advantage from wearing hearing aids.
What many people don’t know is that hearing loss is linked to mental decline, mental health problems, and conditions like Alzheimers disease and dementia.
Research points to several different reasons why this may occur, including that the brain becomes overtaxed and overtired because it’s always striving to comprehend sounds. It’s possible that the brain cells shrink and die because they don’t get enough stimulation, or it may be due to the leading cause of depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems which is social isolation.
Hearing aids can change things for the better by permitting you to hear clearly and understand the words and sounds near you. Your brain can then process these sounds as it ordinarily would without needing to use additional resources, while you will start to enjoy conversations and social experiences again because you will have a boost in confidence.
Technological Developments in Hearing Aids
By now it should be obvious why people of all ages should use hearing aids if they require them. Now it’s time to learn how hearing aids have progressed in the past few years.
If really want one of those big over the ear hearing aids, you can still get one. They perform their function adequately and have advanced to the point where the majority of them have no problem filtering out background noises such as wind or determining what direction sound comes from. Conversely, there are new and improved versions of hearing aids that have sophisticated technology which makes it easy for them to fit in with today’s digital environment and are almost unnoticeable.
Do you want to sync your hearing aid to your cellphone, tablet, television, or even your car’s navigation system? Most contemporary hearing aids have Bluetooth technology so you’re in luck. There are even higher-end versions that can automatically take and make telephone calls for you, track your physical activity, and stream music. Hearing aids nowadays are made to do more – just like your smartwatch and smartphone, smart hearing aids will become a must-have accessory for anybody suffering from hearing impairment. So now that you are ready to tackle your hearing loss and begin wearing a hearing aid, get in touch with us for an appointment and hearing assessment.