Even when it’s relatively mild, hearing loss can have a huge impact on your life. There will be a dramatic change in the way you connect with family, friends, and coworkers. It can become a challenge to accomplish daily activities like going shopping. But it doesn’t need to have this type of negative affect on you. If you utilize a well adjusted hearing aid, it can make a huge difference.
Hearing aids improve your ability to hear, and that’s usually how most individuals think of them. And that’s not untrue. But how do hearing aids better quality of life? Just how far do the benefits of hearing aids go?
Hearing aid’s top ten benefits
It’s sort of fascinating, isn’t it, how people can so often put together top ten lists for everything? 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 advantages of using hearing aids.
1. Your relationships will get better
For any relationship to be great, strong communication is essential. But communication can be difficult when you have untreated hearing loss. But when you wear hearing aids, you’ll be able to hear the whole conversation without losing anything. You’ll be able to keep up with the conversation and get the whole story.
You won’t be resentful and feel excluded from conversations. So you will have an improvement in your relationships with family members, friends, and colleagues. There is a strong link between relationships and hearing aids!
2. You’ll have greater independence
Shopping at the grocery store or going to a restaurant when you’re dealing with neglected hearing loss can be an ordeal. Trying to communicate with wait staff and cashiers can be tricky when you can’t hear very well. But the overall process gets easier when you have hearing aids. You can navigate a lot more independently.
You’ll also be in a better position to drive safely. That’s because your hearing aids will enhance your total situational awareness (more on that in a bit). When you hear more of the world, you’ll be able to do more without any help, and you’ll be able to do it with less anxiety.
3. You might make more money
Let’s chuck out a hypothetical: if you’re losing large parts of what’s being discussed during meetings at work, your work performance will suffer. This can result in decreased job opportunities and being passed-up for promotions.
When you’re wearing precisely tuned hearing aids, you will be less fatigued from struggling 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 grow your income.
4. Your tinnitus symptoms will lessen
Tinnitus is one of those things that most individuals have experienced from time to time; it’s that ringing or buzzing in your ear. Tinnitus symptoms will commonly be more extreme and more often with hearing loss (tinnitus is sometimes more noticeable with hearing loss simply because everything else is quieter, but there might also be other reasons too).
With a hearing aid, many people note that they experience diminished tinnitus symptoms. In these cases, that’s because the hearing aid is overpowering the sound of the tinnitus. But we will take relief whenever we can, right?
5. Reduced risk of mental decline
Hearing loss and cognitive issues are firmly linked. For instance, untreated hearing loss can significantly increase your chance of developing dementia. There are many theories about why this may be, but the bottom line is that treating your hearing loss seems to help! That’s why it’s essential to be certain you wear your hearing aids. You could be helping your brain health!
6. You can appreciate music again
When you suffer from hearing loss music is harder to hear clearly. That’s because one wavelength of sound usually goes before the others. For instance, you might be unable to hear low frequencies. Because of this, the song you once enjoyed 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 only one or the other (or a muffled mess). Hearing your favorite tune again can be incredibly enjoyable.
7. Your confidence will grow
Your confidence will be enhanced when you can hear better and have more successful interactions. And confidence is a great thing.
This isn’t to say that hearing impairment should take away your confidence. We’re simply saying that you might find yourself having a hard time interacting with others, particularly if your hearing loss is new.
A hearing aid can make those interactions easier again. And when that happens, confidence will improve.
8. You’ll have more vigor
Your brain is probably working overtime if your hearing loss is slowly advancing. The audio holes that your hearing loss is creating will try to be filled in by your brain because it doesn’t recognize that your ears aren’t functioning. That’s… a lot of work! And it means that your brain is struggling (and strained) almost continuously.
When you invest in a hearing aid, you’re giving your brain a chance to relax and refresh. It won’t have to work so hard. Which means you won’t feel so consistently tired and drained. You’ll have more energy to do the things you enjoy doing!
9. Being more mindful of your surroundings will keep you safer
You may not have adjusted to your hearing loss, especially if it’s recent. You’re used to being able to hear traffic before you step out into the street. Before you look up into your rearview mirror, you would normally hear the oncoming sirens.
If your hearing loss is recent, or you aren’t conscious of it, you might presume that some scenarios are safe when they actually aren’t. That can put you in some very unsafe scenarios.
This lost awareness will be restored by using hearing aids. So you’ll be able to make smarter, less dangerous decisions.
10. You’ll be a positive example!
Change can be difficult, and personal growth harder still. You’re acknowledging that things aren’t functioning effectively now when you invest in a hearing aid. But you’re also trying to improve the situation.
That’s a good thing! We should all strive for this type of thing, right? So you’re acting as a role model and a positive example when you wear your hearing aids. You should be proud of yourself.
Have your hearing tested today
The primary advantage of hearing aids is that you get to experience hearing better. That goes without saying. But there are lots of benefits to using hearing aids. This top ten list is by no means complete.
You might have a totally different top ten list. No matter what benefits you look forward to the most, the first step is scheduling an appointment with us to have your hearing tested.