Over the years, hearing aids have carried a stigma. If you use one, people may think of you as aging. The consequences?
Lots of people, both old and young, decide against hearing aids and suffer unnecessarily from hearing loss, which itself is linked to several health concerns. This is backed up by the numbers: 30 million individuals in the United States dealing with hearing loss, yet only around 15 percent of that population has ever worn a hearing aid.
At the same time, more and more young people are addressing hearing loss: a WHO report from 2015 forecasted 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, changing attitudes and advanced technology have begun to frame hearing aids in a new light, and people are beginning to view them in a similar way they look at eye-glasses.
Why You Should Wear Hearing Aids
There are a lots of reasons why you should wear hearing aids, some of them obvious and some of them unexpected.
Some of the most common reasons are as follows:
- You can enjoy social activities and settings again
- You won’t have to crank the music or TV up
- You’re brain won’t have to work so hard
- You won’t have as hard a time having conversations
- You’ll increase your earning power
- You’ll be able to hear better (As noted, there were some obvious ones on this list)
- You can minimize tinnitus symptoms
Do these sound like beneficial reasons to you? Some advantage can be gained by wearing hearing aids even for people with mild hearing loss.
What many people aren’t aware of is that hearing loss is connected to mental decline, mental health problems, and conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Research points to a number of different reasons why this may occur, this involves the overworking of the brain as it struggles to comprehend sounds that it hears. it could be that the brain cells shrink and die because they don’t get enough stimulation, or it could be linked to social isolation, which is a leading cause of depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.
Hearing aids can change things for the better by permitting you to hear clearly and understand the words and sounds near you. Your brain won’t need to make use of extra 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 Developments in Hearing Aids
We told you why it’s essential for anybody with hearing loss, old or young, to use hearing aids. Now we’re going to talk about the how; for example, how hearing aid technology has advanced to the point where they’re nothing like your grandparents’ hearing aids.
If really want one of those large over the ear hearing aids, you can still purchase one. They do their job effectively and have advanced to the point where the majority of them have no problem filtering out background noises like wind or determining which direction sound is coming from. However, there are new and improved versions of hearing aids that have sophisticated technology which makes it easy for them to work with today’s digital environment and are almost unnoticeable.
Do you want to connect your hearing aid to your smartphone, tablet, tv, or even your car’s navigation system? Then you’re in luck since many modern hearing aids come equipped with Bluetooth technology that enables them to connect to a range of devices. There are even higher-end versions that can automatically take and make calls for you, track your physical activity, and stream music. Smart hearing aids are becoming a must for anyone who has hearing impairment because just like your smartphone or smartwatch, they’re just created to do more. So now that you are ready to tackle your hearing loss and start wearing a hearing aid, contact us for an appointment and hearing assessment.
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