In the past, hearing aids have carried a stigma. If you wear one, people may think of you as old. What is the result?
Countless people of every age put themselves at risk from numerous health concerns because they decide not to get hearing aids and decide to deal with hearing loss. The numbers reinforce this: 30 million individuals in the United States suffering from hearing loss, yet only around 15 percent of that population has ever used a hearing aid.
Also, an increasing number of young people are addressing hearing loss: 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 teenagers and young adults to permanently injure their hearing.
Still, shifting attitudes and advanced technology have given hearing aids a new life, and pretty soon they’ll be in the same category as eye-glasses – and contact lenses, for that matter.
If You Need Hearing Aids, You Should Use Them, This Is Why
There are a ton of reasons why you should use hearing aids, some of them are unexpected and some are obvious.
Here are several of the most common reasons:
- You’ll increase your earning power
- You’re brain won’t need to work as hard
- You can appreciate social activities and situations again
- You can reduce tinnitus symptoms
- You’ll be able to hear better (As noted, there were some obvious ones on this list)
- You won’t struggle as much in conversations
- You can listen to television and music at safe volumes
Do these sound like beneficial reasons to you? Even someone with slight hearing damage can get some advantage from using hearing aids.
What many people don’t know is that hearing loss is associated with cognitive decline, mental health issues, and conditions like Alzheimers disease and dementia.
This might occur for a few different reasons as reported by research, including that the brain gets overtaxed and overtired because it’s always trying to comprehend sounds. It’s possible that the brain cells shrink and die because they don’t get enough stimulation, or it might be related to social isolation, which is a leading cause of depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.
By allowing you to hear words and sounds around you more clearly, hearing aids can help lessen these problems. Your brain can then process these sounds as it ordinarily would without having to use extra resources, while you will begin to enjoy conversations and social experiences again because you will have a boost in confidence.
Technological Advances in Hearing Aids
We told you why it’s essential for anybody with hearing loss, old or young, to wear hearing aids. Now we’re going to talk about the how; as in, how hearing aid technology has progressed to the point where they’re no longer your grandparents’ hearing aids.
If really want one of those big over the ear hearing aids, you can still buy one. They also have advanced to the point that they can determine where sound is coming from and can filter out sound effectively. However, there are new and improved versions of hearing aids that have sophisticated technology which makes it straight forward for them to work with today’s digital world and are virtually invisible.
Is connecting your hearing aids to your Bluetooth devices like your tv, phone, or tablet something you would want to do? Most contemporary hearing aids come with Bluetooth technology so you’re in luck. There are even higher-end versions that can automatically take and make calls for you, keep track of your physical activity, and stream music. Hearing aids nowadays are made to do more – just like your smartphone and smartwatch, smart hearing aids will become a must-have accessory for anybody who has hearing loss. So now that you are ready to manage your hearing loss and start using a hearing aid, consult with us for an appointment and hearing assessment.