In the past, hearing aids have carried a stigma. If you wear one, people might think of you as aging. What is the consequence?
Countless people, both young and old, decide against hearing aids and suffer needlessly from hearing loss, which is actually linked to several health concerns. The numbers reinforce this: 30 million people in the United States suffering from hearing loss, yet only about 15 percent of that group has ever used a hearing aid.
Additionally, the youth are suffering from hearing loss in higher numbers than they ever have: a WHO report from 2015 predicted that too much use of headphones and overly loud concert events and festivals will cause over 1.1 billion teens and young adults to permanently injure their hearing.
Still, changing attitudes and advanced technology have begun to frame hearing aids in a new light, and people are beginning to look at them in a similar way they look at eye-glasses.
If You Require Hearing Aids, You Should Wear Them, Here’s Why
There are a ton of reasons why wearing hearing aids is a good idea, some of them are unexpected and some are obvious.
Here are a few of the most common reasons:
- You’re brain won’t need to work so hard
- You won’t struggle as much having conversations
- One of the obvious factors would be that you will be able to hear better
- You can reduce tinnitus symptoms
- You’ll raise your earning power
- You can appreciate social activities and settings again
- You can listen to television and music at safe volumes
Are these reasons sounding good to you? Some advantage can be gained by using hearing aids even for people with mild hearing loss.
What many people aren’t aware of is that hearing loss is linked to cognitive decline, mental health issues, and conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
This may happen for several different reasons as reported by recent studies, including that the brain becomes overtaxed and overtired because it’s always trying to comprehend sounds. It may be that the brain cells don’t get enough stimulation so they shrink and die, or it could be because of the number one cause of anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems which is social isolation.
By letting you hear words and sounds near you more clearly, hearing aids can help lessen these problems. Your brain won’t need to utilize additional resources and will be capable of processing sounds in a normal way, while you’ll gain the ability and confidence to enjoy social experiences and conversations again.
Technological Advances in Hearing Aids
By now it should be obvious why people of any age need to use hearing aids if they require them. Now we’re going to talk about the how; as in, how hearing aid technology has advanced to the point where they’re nothing like your grandparents’ hearing aids.
If really want one of those big over the ear hearing aids, you can still purchase one. They do their job acceptably and have progressed to the point where most of them have no problem filtering out background sounds such as wind or determining what direction sound is coming from. Conversely, there are more modern versions of hearing aids that are virtually invisible, yet pack quite a bit of technology to work with today’s digital environment.
Is connecting your hearing aids to your Bluetooth devices like your tv, cellphone, or tablet something you might want to do? Then you’re in luck since many modern hearing aids come equipped with Bluetooth technology that enables them to sync with a variety of devices. There are even higher-end models keep track of your physical health, take calls for you, stream music. Hearing aids nowadays are designed to do more – just like your smartwatch and smartphone, smart hearing aids will become a must-have accessory for anybody suffering from hearing impairment. So now that you’re ready to tackle your hearing loss and start using a hearing aid, contact us for an appointment and hearing assessment.