Hearing loss can seriously effect the way you live, even when it’s minor. The way you communicate with friends, coworkers, and family members can change substantially. It can become challenging to accomplish daily activities like going shopping. But it doesn’t need to have this kind of negative impact on you. If you use a well calibrated hearing aid, it can make a big 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 do hearing aids enhance quality of life? What further advantages will hearing aids create?
Hearing aid’s top ten advantages
We humans 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. I mean, if you’ve known about your hearing loss for a while… maybe you did!
So here are the top ten benefits of wearing hearing aids.
1. You will have improved relationships.
Great communication is critical to any good 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 hear everything, you’ll get the whole story, and you’ll be capable of keeping up with the conversation.
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. There is a strong connection between relationships and hearing aids!
2. You’ll have more independence
When you have neglected 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 difficult. But the whole process gets easier when you have hearing aids. You can navigate a lot more independently.
You’ll also be better able to drive safely. That’s because your hearing aids will increase your all-around situational awareness (more on that later). When you hear more of the world, you’ll be capable of doing more by yourself, and you’ll be able to do it without as much anxiety.
3. Stronger hearing could lead to higher income
Consider this hypothetical situation: if you’re missing large portions of what’s being talked about during meetings at work, your job performance will suffer. This can lead to lost promotions or even dicey job prospects.
When you’re wearing properly calibrated hearing aids, you will be less exhausted from straining to hear, and keeping up with those meetings will be much easier. By doing this you can have a chance to boost your income by improving your ability to focus on work.
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. Tinnitus symptoms will commonly be more intense and frequent with hearing loss (tinnitus is sometimes louder with hearing loss simply because everything else is quieter, but there may also be other reasons too).
Many individuals observe that their tinnitus symptoms ease up when they wear a hearing aid. The louder overall external sound provided by the hearing aid might be, in some cases, just drowning out the tinnitus symptoms. But we will take relief whenever we can, right?
5. Lower risk of mental decline
Hearing loss and cognitive issues are strongly connected. Your chance of developing dementia can be significantly elevated by ignoring hearing loss, for instance. There are many hypotheses about why this might be, but the bottom line is that treating 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 the health of your brain!
6. You can enjoy music again
It’s tough to enjoy music, in its full entirety, when you have hearing loss. That’s because one frequency of sound normally goes before the others. For instance, you may be unable to hear low frequencies. The music you used to like, consequently, may sound… different.
You will be able to appreciate music again with your hearing aids replacing missing sound. You’ll get the high notes and the low notes, instead of just one or the other (or a garbled mess). It can be a great relief to hear your favorite tune again.
7. You’ll get a boost of confidence
Your confidence will be boosted when you can hear better and have more successful interactions. And who doesn’t want confidence?
We’re not implying that you shouldn’t have confidence just because you have hearing loss. It’s just that, particularly if that hearing loss is recent, you might suddenly find it difficult to interact with others in the same ways you always have.
Those connections can become easier again with hearing aids. And that can result in improved confidence.
8. You’ll have more energy
If your hearing loss has been gradually developing, your brain has likely been working overtime. That’s because your brain doesn’t know your ears aren’t working correctly, so it’s continuously attempting to fill in the audio gaps that your hearing impairment has created. That’s hard work. And so, your brain is under continual strain.
When you invest in a hearing aid, you’re giving your brain the opportunity to relax and recharge. It won’t have to work so hard. With this, persistent tiredness and fatigue will be decreased. You’ll enjoy doing the things that are exciting for you with this enhanced energy.
9. You’ll be safer and more aware of your surroundings
If your hearing loss is new, you might not yet have completely adjusted. Ordinarily, you would hear approaching traffic before you step out into the road. You’re used to hearing the ambulance siren before you look in the rearview mirror.
You might assume certain situations are safe when, because you’re not aware of your hearing loss, or you’ve neglected it, they actually aren’t. That can put you in some very unsafe scenarios.
This lost awareness will be recovered by using hearing aids. So you’ll be able to make smarter, safer choices.
10. You’ll be a positive example!
Change can be difficult, and personal growth still harder. When you get a hearing aid, you’re admitting that something isn’t actually working right anymore. But you’re also attempting to improve the situation.
There’s nothing wrong with that! We should all strive for this type of thing, right? 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
The primary benefit of hearing aids is that you get to enjoy hearing better. That goes without saying. But there are plenty of advantages to using hearing aids. This top ten list is just that, one little list of just ten of these benefits.
You may have a completely different top ten list. Scheduling an appointment with us for a hearing assessment is the first step no matter what benefits you look forward to.