Hearing loss can seriously effect the way you live, even when it’s minor. The way you interact with friends, coworkers, and family members can change drastically. It can become difficult to complete day-to-day activities such as going shopping. But that doesn’t mean it has to be all doom and gloom. If you utilize a well adjusted hearing aid, it can make a big difference.
Most people 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? What further advantages will hearing aids deliver?
Hearing aid’s top ten advantages
It’s kind of amazing, isn’t it, how people can so often produce top ten lists for anything? When you got 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, what are the top ten advantages linked to wearing your hearing aid? Here they are!
1. Your relationships will get better
Great communication is critical to any great relationship. But when you have neglected hearing loss, communication can be challenging. But when you use hearing aids, you’ll be capable of hearing the whole conversation without losing anything. You’ll be able to follow along with the conversation and get the whole 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 you will have an improvement in your relationships with family, friends, and colleagues. There is a strong link between relationships and hearing aids!
2. You’ll be more independent
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 challenging when you can’t hear very well. But with a pair of hearing aids, the entire process suddenly becomes much easier. You’ll have much more independence when you move around 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 later). You won’t be as anxious about doing things by yourself when you’re able to hear the world more clearly.
3. Better hearing could result in higher pay
Consider this hypothetical scenario: if you’re attending a meeting at work and miss half of what’s discussed, you may not execute your job quite as well. This can lead to reduced job prospects 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 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 diminish
Tinnitus is one of those things that most people have experienced from time to time; it’s that buzzing or ringing in your ear. Tinnitus symptoms will frequently be more intense and more often with hearing loss (there are a host of explanations for this, sometimes the tinnitus is just relatively noisier because everything else is so quiet, for example).
With a hearing aid, many people note that they experience decreased tinnitus symptoms. The louder overall outside sound provided by the hearing aid might be, in some situations, simply drowning out the tinnitus symptoms. But relief is relief.
5. Decreased risk of mental decline
There is a solid link between mental decline and hearing loss. Your risk of developing dementia can be seriously elevated by ignoring hearing loss, for instance. Managing hearing loss seems to be helpful, though there are numerous theories as to why. That’s why it’s essential to be certain you wear your hearing aids. You might be giving your brain a greater chance of staying healthy longer.
6. Music can once again be appreciated
When you have hearing loss music is harder to hear clearly. That’s because one wavelength of sound typically goes before the others. Maybe you’re unable to hear low frequencies, for example. As a result, the song you once enjoyed may just sound… strange.
With your hearing aids, though, those missing holes in the music will be filled in, and you can appreciate music again! You’ll get the high notes and the low notes, instead of only one or the other (or a garbled mess). It can be an incredible relief to hear your favorite tune again.
7. You’ll get a boost of confidence
Your confidence will be boosted when you can hear better and have more successful interactions. And confidence is a wonderful thing.
We’re not suggesting that you shouldn’t have confidence just because you deal with hearing loss. It’s just that, particularly if that hearing loss is new, you could suddenly find it difficult to interact with others in the same ways you always have.
Those interactions can become easier again with hearing aids. And when that takes place, confidence will grow.
8. You’ll have more vigor
If your hearing loss has been slowly progressing, your brain has probably been working overtime. 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 working. That’s hard work. And so, your brain is under constant strain.
When you get a hearing aid, you’re giving your brain a chance to relax and recharge. It will have less work to accomplish. With this, persistent exhaustion and fatigue will be minimized. You’ll have more energy to do the things you love to do!
9. Being more aware of your surroundings will keep you safer
If your hearing loss is recent, you may not yet have completely adapted. Normally, you would hear approaching traffic before you step out into the street. Before you look in your rearview mirror, you would usually hear the oncoming sirens.
You might presume certain situations are safe when, because you’re unaware of your hearing loss, or you’ve ignored it, they actually aren’t. That can put you in some very unsafe scenarios.
Hearing aids will help reestablish that lost awareness. Your decision making will be wiser and less hazardous.
10. You will set a good example!
The one thing that can be even more difficult than change is personal growth. When you invest in a hearing aid, you’re acknowledging that something isn’t necessarily working right anymore. But you’re also attempting to improve the situation.
There’s nothing wrong with that! It’s the type of thing we should all strive for! So you’re acting as a role model and a positive example when you wear your hearing aids. You should be proud of yourself.
Schedule a hearing exam right away
When you use hearing aids you will hear better and that’s the principal advantage. That one’s obvious. But there are lots of advantages 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 making an appointment with us to have your hearing tested.