Hearing loss can really impact the way you live, even when it’s mild. The way you connect with friends, coworkers, and loved ones can change significantly. Daily activities like going to the grocery store can grow more difficult. But it doesn’t have to have this kind of negative affect on you. If you use a well adjusted hearing aid, it can make a big difference.
Most individuals tend to think of those advantages in a very linear sort of way: Hearing aids help you hear better. And that’s true. But how is the quality of life enhanced? What further advantages will hearing aids create?
The top ten reasons to invest in hearing aids
We people just love creating 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 coping with your hearing loss for a while.
So, what are the top ten advantages connected with wearing your hearing aid? Here they are!
1. You will have improved relationships.
For any relationship to be great, good communication is indispensable. But communication can be difficult when you have neglected hearing loss. With hearing aids, you’ll finally hear more than little snippets 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 left out of the conversation, and you won’t feel resentful that the conversations continue without you. So your overall relationships, among your friends, co-workers, and family members, will improve. The connection between hearing aids and relationships is a strong one!
2. You’ll be more independent
Shopping at the supermarket or going to a restaurant when you have untreated hearing loss can feel like an ordeal. Trying to communicate with wait staff and cashiers can be tricky when you can’t hear that well. But with a pair of hearing aids, the entire process suddenly becomes much easier. You can navigate much more independently.
You’ll also be in a better position to drive safely. That’s because your general situational awareness will be increased by your hearing aids. When you hear more of the world, you’ll be capable of doing more on your own, and you’ll be able to do it without as much anxiety.
3. Better hearing may lead to higher income
Think about this hypothetical scenario: if you’re attending a meeting at work and miss a lot of what’s said, you may not perform your job quite as well. This can result in passed promotions or even dicey job prospects.
When you’re wearing properly calibrated hearing aids, you will be less fatigued from struggling 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 diminish
Tinnitus is that buzzing or ringing in the ear that most of us have experienced occasionally. Tinnitus symptoms will commonly be more intense and frequent with hearing loss (tinnitus is sometimes more noticeable with hearing loss simply because everything else is quieter, but there might also be other reasons as well).
With a hearing aid, many individuals observe that they experience decreased tinnitus symptoms. The louder overall external sound supplied by the hearing aid could be, in some cases, simply drowning out the tinnitus symptoms. But we will take relief whenever we can, right?
5. Less chance of developing dementia
Hearing impairment and cognitive decline are definitely connected. For example, untreated hearing loss can significantly elevate your chance of developing dementia. Managing hearing loss seems to be helpful, although there are numerous theories as to why. That’s why it isn’t a good idea to forget to put in your hearing aid. You could be helping the health of your brain!
6. Music can once again be appreciated
It’s hard to appreciate 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 example. Because of this, the song you once enjoyed may just sound… strange.
With your hearing aids, however, those missing gaps in the music will be filled in, and you can enjoy music again! You’ll get the high notes and the low notes, instead of just one or the other (or a muffled mess). It can be an incredible relief to hear your favorite song again.
7. You’ll get a boost of confidence
Having better hearing and interacting more completely will give you a boost of confidence. And confidence is a wonderful thing.
This isn’t to say that hearing impairment should take away your confidence. It’s just that, particularly if that hearing loss is new, you may suddenly find it difficult to interact with people in the same ways you usually do.
A hearing aid can make those connections easier again. And that can result in improved confidence.
8. You’ll have more vigor
If your hearing loss has been slowly developing, your brain has most likely been working harder. That’s because your brain doesn’t recognize your ears aren’t working right, so it’s constantly trying to fill in the audio holes that your hearing impairment has produced. That’s hard work. And it means that your brain is working (and strained) almost constantly.
When you invest in a hearing aid, you’re giving your brain an opportunity to slow down and recharge. It will have less work to accomplish. Which means you won’t feel so continually tired and drained. You’ll enjoy doing the things that are exciting for you with this enhanced energy.
9. Being more aware of your surroundings will keep you safer
If your hearing loss is new, you might not yet have fully adjusted. You’re used to hearing traffic before you step out into the street. You’re used to hearing the emergency siren before you check the rearview mirror.
If your hearing loss is new, or you aren’t aware of it, you may assume that some situations are safe when they actually aren’t. And that can be a dangerous proposition.
Hearing aids will help reestablish that lost awareness. So you’ll be able to make smarter, less dangerous decisions.
10. You will set a good example!
Change can be difficult, and personal growth still harder. When you get a hearing aid, you’re accepting that something isn’t necessarily working right anymore. But you’re improving yourself as well.
That’s a positive 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 use your hearing aids. (It’s okay, you can blush a bit, you deserve it.)
Get your hearing tested today
The main benefit of hearing aids is that you get to experience hearing better. That goes without saying. But as you can tell, there are lots of immediate advantages of hearing aids! This top ten list is by no means complete.
Your top ten list might 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.