What’s the point of wearing hearing aids? It’s probably to hear better, right? Well, sure, for the majority of people that will be the reason. Helping your hearing is what a hearing aid is made to do.
But could there be an even more relevant reason? What about staying in touch with people in our lives…so not only can we hear conversations, but be a part of them. Hearing aids allow us to be sure that we don’t miss out on the key lines of our favorite show, the punchline of a joke, or our favorite music.
In other words, there are all kinds of benefits, under-appreciated benefits, that come with wearing your hearing aids. And those less acknowledged advantages could be the difference between wearing your hearing aids every day or leaving them tucked away in a drawer somewhere. So we can be sure that these benefits deserve to be featured.
Clearer Sound
So it’s not only that your hearing aid raises the volume of sounds. They make the sound clearer. The reason for this is that your hearing doesn’t decline symmetrically: select frequencies are the first to go. So the sounds around you will become easier to perceive and clearer.
Additionally, modern hearing aids have all kinds of settings that can be adjusted (or that can adjust themselves) based on the room you’re in, the ambient volume of that room, etc. So that you are able to hear more clearly, hearing aids selectively enhance the volume of specific frequencies and leave others alone.
Social Life That is More Active And Enriching
The significant benefit is that if you can hear the sounds near you more clearly, you will feel more comfortable engaging in social activities. Just consider this, you’re less likely to jump in with a witty joke at a crowded restaurant if you can’t hear what anyone is saying. But when your hearing aids are doing the heavy lifting for your ears and all the voices are sound sharp, you’ll know that exact moment to come in with your humorous joke.
Social situations are exhausting when you don’t need to ask people to repeat themselves and voices are crisper and clearer; instead, socializing goes back to being something you can enjoy again.
Having Better Concentration
A large part of your mental resources are used up attempting to decipher the chaos when you’re having a hard time hearing. Your total concentration is weakened when that amount of mental effort is going towards interpreting distorted and incomplete audio. So if your hearing aids are performing properly, you can find yourself focusing with far greater ease, whether you’re doing your taxes, listening to the news, or watching TV.
You’re Safer
Research shows that people with untreated hearing loss have a higher risk of falling down. There are two ways that hearing aids can help protect you against a fall. The first is by stopping falls from the beginning. It’s easier to move your feet around without tripping on something when you have improved focus (and as a result be less mentally fatigued.) Second is when a person falls, the automated technology in the hearing aid triggers. This technology can be simply configured to get in touch with friends, family, or emergency services in the event of a fall.
An Improvement in Mental Cognition
It’s not only your attention that gets better when you wear your hearing aids. You also get a cognitive improvement too. When you have a hard time hearing and start to isolate yourself, the pathways in your brain, responsible for deciphering sounds, can begin to deteriorate (pretty much, it’s an involved process that we’re simplifying to save time). A hearing aid can help protect countless mental cognitive processes, meaning your self esteem, mood and mental health may all benefit from wearing your hearing aids.
Get The Benefits Now Rather Than Later
waiting has no real benefit if you’ve already noticed a decline in hearing. Both quick and also long term benefits are given by hearing aids. So schedule a hearing test right away with a hearing care professional.