Even when it’s relatively minor, hearing loss can have a major impact on your life. The way you interact with friends, coworkers, and family members can change drastically. Daily activities like going to the supermarket can grow more difficult. But it doesn’t have to have this kind of negative affect on you. On the contrary, a well calibrated pair of hearing aids 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? Just how far do the advantages of hearing aids go?
Hearing aid’s top ten benefits
We people just love creating top ten lists. When you got up today, did you think you’d be reading a top ten list about hearing aids? I mean, if you’ve been aware of your hearing loss for a while… maybe you did!
So, what are the top ten benefits associated with wearing your hearing aid? Here they are!
1. You will have improved relationships.
Strong communication is crucial to any great relationship. But communication can be problematic when you have neglected hearing loss. With hearing aids, you’ll finally hear more than little bits of conversation. You’ll hear everything, you’ll get the full story, and you’ll be able to keep up with the conversation.
This also means you won’t feel excluded from the conversation, and you won’t feel resentful that the conversations continue without you. So you will have an improvement in your relationships with family, friends, and colleagues. There is a strong connection between relationships and hearing aids!
2. You’ll be more independent
Shopping at the grocery store or going to a restaurant when you have neglected hearing loss can be an ordeal. Trying to communicate with wait staff and cashiers can be challenging when you can’t hear that well. But the entire process gets easier when you use hearing aids. You’ll have much more independence when you navigate the world around you.
You’ll also be in a better position to drive safely. That’s because your hearing aids will improve your overall situational awareness (more on that in a bit). You will be less anxious about doing things without help when you can hear the world more clearly.
3. You could make more money
Let’s chuck out a hypothetical: if you’re missing large parts of what’s being discussed during meetings at work, your job performance will be affected negatively. This can result in lost promotions or even dicey job prospects.
When you’re wearing properly tuned hearing aids, you will be less exhausted 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 increasing your ability to focus on work.
4. You’ll have decreased tinnitus symptoms
Tinnitus is that buzzing or ringing in the ear that the majority of us have experienced occasionally. Tinnitus symptoms will normally be more intense and more often with hearing loss (tinnitus is sometimes more noticeable with hearing loss simply because everything else is quieter, but there could also be other reasons as well).
Many people report that their tinnitus symptoms ease up when they use a hearing aid. The louder overall external sound provided by the hearing aid may be, in some cases, simply drowning out the tinnitus symptoms. But relief is relief.
5. Lower chance of mental decline
Hearing impairment and cognitive issues are definitely linked. Your risk of developing dementia can be seriously elevated by neglecting hearing loss, for instance. Managing hearing loss seems to be helpful, even though there are many theories as to why. That’s why it isn’t a good idea to forget to wear your hearing aid. You might be giving your brain a better chance of staying healthy longer.
6. Music can once again be enjoyed
When you suffer from hearing loss music is more difficult to hear clearly. That’s because hearing loss is likely to effect one frequency of sound first, then another. Maybe you can’t hear low frequencies, for example. As a result, the song you used to enjoy may just sound… strange.
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). Hearing your favorite song again can be incredibly enjoyable.
7. You’ll get a boost of confidence
Being able to hear better and interact more completely will boost your confidence. And who doesn’t want confidence?
We’re not implying that you shouldn’t be confident just because you deal with hearing loss. We’re simply saying that you might find yourself having a difficult time interacting with others, particularly if your hearing loss is new.
Those connections can become easier again with hearing aids. And that can result in a boost in confidence.
8. Your vitality will be higher
Your brain is probably working extra hard if your hearing loss is slowly progressing. That’s because your brain doesn’t realize your ears aren’t working correctly, so it’s constantly attempting to fill in the audio gaps that your hearing loss has created. That’s… a lot of work! And it means that your brain is working (and strained) almost constantly.
Your brain gets to refresh and relax when you wear a hearing aid. It won’t have to work as hard. With this, persistent tiredness and weariness will be minimized. You’ll have more energy to do the things you enjoy doing!
9. You’ll be safer and more perceptive of your environment
If your hearing loss is recent, you may not yet have entirely adapted. Ordinarily, you would hear oncoming traffic before you step out into the road. You’re accustomed to hearing the emergency siren before you check the rearview mirror.
If your hearing loss is recent, or you aren’t aware of it, you might assume that some scenarios are safe when they really aren’t. That can put you in some very dangerous scenarios.
Hearing aids will help reestablish that lost awareness. So you’ll be able to make smarter, safer decisions.
10. You’ll be a positive example!
Change can be hard, and personal growth harder still. You’re acknowledging that things aren’t working properly now when you get a hearing aid. But you’re also trying to better the situation.
That’s a positive thing! 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 assessment right away
The primary advantage of hearing aids is that you get to enjoy hearing better. That goes without saying. But there are lots of benefits to using hearing aids. This top ten list is just that, one little list of just ten of these advantages.
Your top ten list may 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 tested.