Even when it’s fairly mild, hearing loss can have a big impact on your life. There will be a dramatic change in the way you communicate with loved ones, friends, and coworkers. It can become challenging to perform daily activities like going shopping. But that doesn’t mean it has to be all doom and gloom. If you utilize a well calibrated hearing aid, it can make a big difference.
Most individuals usually think of those benefits in a very linear sort of way: Hearing aids help you hear better. And that’s not untrue. But how is the quality of life improved? Just how far do the advantages of hearing aids go?
The top ten reasons to invest in hearing aids
We people just love producing top ten lists. When you woke up today, did you think you’d be reading a top ten list about hearing aids? Well, perhaps you did if you’ve been dealing with your hearing loss for a while.
So here are the top ten advantages of wearing hearing aids.
1. Your relationships will improve
Great communication is crucial to any great relationship. But communication can be problematic when you have untreated hearing loss. But when you wear hearing aids, you’ll be capable of hearing the whole conversation without missing anything. You’ll be able to follow along with the conversation and get the whole story.
This also means you won’t feel excluded from the conversation, and you won’t feel resentful that the conversations go on without you. So your overall relationships, among your friends, co-workers, and loved ones, will improve. The link between hearing aids and relationships is a strong one!
2. You’ll have greater independence
Shopping at the supermarket or going to a restaurant when you’re dealing with untreated hearing loss can feel like an ordeal. Trying to communicate with wait staff and cashiers can be tricky when you can’t hear very well. But the whole process gets easier when you have hearing aids. You’ll have a lot more independence when you navigate the world around you.
You’ll also be in a better position to drive safely. That’s because your general situational awareness will be enhanced by your hearing aids. 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. You could make more money
Let’s toss out a hypothetical: if you’re attending a meeting at work and miss a lot of what’s said, you might not do your job adequately. This can lead to lost promotions or even dicey job opportunities.
When you’re wearing precisely tuned hearing aids, you will be less fatigued from straining to hear, and keeping up 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 lessen
Tinnitus is that buzzing or ringing in the ear that most of us have experienced occasionally. Tinnitus symptoms will frequently be more extreme and frequent with hearing loss (there are a number of reasons for this, sometimes the tinnitus is only relatively louder because everything else is so quiet, for example).
Many people report that their tinnitus symptoms ease up when they use a hearing aid. The louder overall outside sound supplied by the hearing aid could be, in some situations, simply drowning out the tinnitus symptoms. But relief is relief.
5. Less chance of developing dementia
There is a firm connection between mental decline and hearing impairment. For example, untreated hearing loss can seriously raise your chance of developing dementia. There are numerous theories about why this may be, but the bottom line is that treating your hearing loss appears to be helpful! That’s why it isn’t a good idea to forget to wear your hearing aid. You could be helping the health of your brain!
6. Music can once again be enjoyed
When you have hearing loss music is harder to hear clearly. That’s because hearing loss tends to effect one frequency of sound first, then another. For instance, you may be unable to hear low frequencies. The music you used to like, as a result, may sound… different.
With your hearing aids, however, those missing holes in the music will be filled in, and you can enjoy music again! You’ll hear all of the wavelengths and your music won’t sound so muffled. Hearing your favorite tune again can be incredibly enjoyable.
7. You’ll get an increase in confidence
Having better hearing and interacting more thoroughly will boost your confidence. And confidence is a wonderful thing.
We’re not implying that you shouldn’t be confident simply because you deal with hearing loss. It’s just that, especially if that hearing loss is recent, you may suddenly find it a challenge to interact with others in the same ways you always have.
Those connections can become easier again when you use hearing aids. And that can result in improved confidence.
8. You’ll have more energy
If your hearing impairment has been slowly advancing, your brain has likely been working harder. The audio gaps that your hearing loss is producing will try to be filled in by your brain because it doesn’t recognize that your ears aren’t working. That’s… a lot of work! And so, your brain is under persistent strain.
When you invest in a hearing aid, you’re giving your brain the opportunity to relax and refresh. It won’t need to work as hard. With this, constant tiredness and weariness will be reduced. You’ll enjoy doing the things that are stimulating for you with this increased energy.
9. Being more mindful of your surroundings will keep you safer
You might not have adapted to your hearing loss, especially if it’s recent. You’re used to hearing oncoming traffic before you step out into the street. You’re used to hearing the ambulance siren before you look in the rearview mirror.
If your hearing loss is recent, or you aren’t conscious of it, you might assume that some situations are safe when they actually aren’t. That can put you in some really unsafe scenarios.
Hearing aids will help restore that lost awareness. Your decision making will be wiser and less hazardous.
10. You’ll be a positive example!
Change can be hard, and personal growth still harder. When you get a hearing aid, you’re acknowledging that something isn’t actually working properly anymore. But you’re also trying to better the situation.
That’s a good thing! It’s the type of thing we should all work for! So when you put in your hearing aids, you’re setting yourself up as a positive example and role model. (It’s okay, you can blush a bit, you deserve it.)
Schedule a hearing exam right away
When you use hearing aids you will hear better and that’s the primary benefit. That one’s obvious. But as you can tell, there are boatloads of immediate benefits of hearing aids! This top ten list is only that, one little list of just ten of these advantages.
Your top ten list might look a little different. Scheduling an appointment with us for a hearing test is the first step no matter what advantages you look forward to.