In the past, hearing aids have had a stigma. If you wear one, people may think of you as old. The effect?
Countless people of every age put themselves at risk from numerous health problems because they decide not to get hearing aids and decide to live with hearing loss. 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 group has ever used a hearing aid.
What’s more, the youth are suffering from hearing loss in higher numbers than they ever have: a WHO report from 2015 forecasted that too much use of headphones and overly loud concerts and festivals will cause over 1.1 billion teenagers and young adults to permanently damage their hearing.
However, changing attitudes and sophisticated technology have started to frame hearing aids in a new light, and people are starting to view them in a similar way they view eye-glasses.
If You Need Hearing Aids, You Should Wear Them, Here’s Why
There are a ton of reasons why wearing hearing aids is a smart idea, some of them are surprising and some are obvious.
Several of the most common reasons are as follows:
- You’ll give your brain a break
- Conversations will be a lot easier
- You can enjoy social activities and situations again
- One of the obvious reasons is that you can hear better
- You’ll have the ability to earn more money
- You can listen to music and television at safe volumes
- You can decrease tinnitus symptoms
Do these seem like good reasons to you? Some benefit 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 mental decline, mental health problems, and conditions such as Alzheimers disease and dementia.
This may occur for a few different reasons based on recent studies, this includes the overworking of the brain as it battles to understand sounds that it hears. It might be that the brain cells don’t get enough stimulation so they shrink and die, or it could be because of the leading cause of depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues which is social isolation.
Hearing aids can change things for the better by letting you hear clearly and understand the words and sounds around you. Your brain won’t need to use additional resources and will be able to process sounds in a standard way, while you’ll gain the ability and confidence to enjoy social activities and conversations again.
Hearing Aids Have Advanced in Sophistication
By now it should be obvious why people of any age should wear hearing aids if they need them. 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.
The bulky, over-the-ear hearing aids are still out there for the people who like them. They also have progressed to the point that they can figure out where sound is coming from and can filter out sound adequately. However, there are more modern versions of hearing aids that are virtually unnoticeable, yet pack quite a bit of technology to fit in with today’s digital world.
Is syncing your hearing aids up with your Bluetooth devices including your television, cellphone, or tablet something you would want to do? Most modern-day hearing aids have Bluetooth technology so you’re in luck. There are even higher-end models keep track of your physical health, stream music, and take calls for you. Hearing aids nowadays are made to do more – much like your smartwatch and smartphone, smart hearing aids will come to be a must-have accessory for anybody who has hearing impairment. So now that you are ready to deal with your hearing loss and start using a hearing aid, contact us for an appointment and hearing assessment.