Hearing loss can really impact how you live, even when it’s minor. There will be a significant change in the way you interact with loved ones, friends, and coworkers. It can become challenging to accomplish daily activities like going shopping. But it doesn’t need to have this kind of negative affect on you. If you use a well adjusted hearing aid, it can make a huge difference.
Most people tend to 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 benefits will hearing aids deliver?
Hearing aid’s top ten advantages
It’s sort of fascinating, isn’t it, how people can so often come up with 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. Well, perhaps you did if you’ve been dealing with your hearing loss for a while.
So here are the top ten benefits of wearing hearing aids.
1. You will have better relationships.
For any relationship to be strong, strong communication is indispensable. But when you have neglected hearing loss, communication can be challenging. But when you wear hearing aids, you’ll be able to hear the whole conversation without losing anything. You’ll be able to follow along with the conversation and get the entire story.
This also means you won’t feel left out of the conversation, and you won’t feel resentful that the conversations carry on without you. So your general relationships, among your friends, co-workers, and loved ones, will improve. The link between hearing aids and relationships is a powerful one!
2. You’ll be more independent
When you’re dealing with neglected hearing loss, tasks like shopping or dining out can be a real ordeal. Attempting to communicate with wait staff and cashiers can be tricky when you can’t hear that well. But with a set of hearing aids, the entire process quickly becomes a lot easier. You’ll have a lot more independence when you navigate the world around you.
Driving will also be less hazardous. That’s because your hearing aids will increase your all-around situational awareness (more on that in a bit). When you hear more of the world, you’ll be able to do more on your own, and you’ll be able to do it without as much anxiety.
3. Stronger hearing may result in higher pay
Think about this hypothetical situation: if you’re losing large parts of what’s being talked about during meetings at work, your job performance will suffer. This can lead to diminished job prospects and being passed-up for promotions.
When you’re wearing properly calibrated hearing aids, you will be less fatigued from struggling to hear, and following along with those meetings will be a lot easier. By doing this you can have an opportunity to raise your income by improving your ability to focus on work.
4. Your tinnitus symptoms will decrease
Tinnitus is that ringing or buzzing in the ear that the majority of us have experienced occasionally. When you suffer from hearing loss, tinnitus can often be experienced much more intensely (there are a number of explanations for this, sometimes the tinnitus is only relatively noisier because everything else is so quiet, for example).
Many people report that their tinnitus symptoms decrease when they wear a hearing aid. In these circumstances, that’s because the hearing aid is overpowering the sound of the tinnitus. But relief is relief.
5. Less chance of developing dementia
There is a firm connection between cognitive decline and hearing impairment. Your risk of developing dementia can be significantly increased 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’s essential to be certain you wear your hearing aids. You could be helping the health of your brain!
6. Music can once again be appreciated
It’s hard to enjoy music, in its full entirety, when you suffer from hearing impairment. That’s because hearing loss is likely to effect one frequency of sound first, then another. Maybe you’re unable to hear low frequencies, for instance. As a result, the song you once enjoyed might just sound… weird.
You will be able to enjoy 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. Hearing your favorite tune again can be extremely enjoyable.
7. You’ll get a boost of confidence
Your confidence will be boosted when you can hear better and have more effective interactions. And confidence is a great thing.
This is not to say that hearing impairment should rob you of your confidence. We’re simply saying that you may find yourself having a difficult time interacting with others, especially if your hearing loss is new.
Those interactions can become easier again with hearing aids. And when that happens, confidence will grow.
8. You’ll have more vigor
Your brain is most likely working overtime if your hearing loss is slowly progressing. That’s because your brain doesn’t realize your ears aren’t working right, so it’s continuously attempting to fill in the audio gaps that your hearing impairment has produced. That’s… a lot of work! And so, your brain is under continual strain.
Your brain gets to recharge and unwind when you use a hearing aid. It will have less work to accomplish. With this, persistent exhaustion and fatigue will be reduced. You’ll enjoy doing the things that are stimulating for you with this increased energy.
9. Being more conscious of your surroundings will keep you safer
If your hearing loss is recent, you might not yet have fully adjusted. You’re used to being able to 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 aware of it, you might assume that some scenarios are safe when they actually aren’t. That can put you in some really dangerous situations.
This lost awareness will be recovered by using hearing aids. So you’ll be able to make smarter, safer choices.
10. You will set a good example!
Change can be hard, and personal growth still harder. When you get a hearing aid, you’re admitting that something isn’t actually working properly anymore. But you’re also trying to improve the situation.
There’s nothing wrong with that! It’s the sort of thing we should all work for! So when you pop in your hearing aids, you’re making yourself a positive example and role model. (It’s okay, you can blush a bit, you deserve it.)
Schedule an appointment for a hearing exam right away
The main advantage of hearing aids is that you get to experience hearing better. That one’s obvious. But as you can tell, there are boatloads of immediate benefits of hearing aids! This top ten list is just that, one little list of only ten of these advantages.
You may have a totally different top ten list. Scheduling an appointment with us for a hearing assessment is the first step no matter what advantages you look forward to.