Over the years, hearing aids have had a stigma. Some people just link them with getting old. What is the consequence?
Many people, both young and old, decide against hearing aids and suffer unnecessarily from hearing loss, which is actually connected to a number of health problems. This is reinforced by the numbers: 30 million people in the United States dealing with hearing loss, yet only around 15 percent of that population has ever used a hearing aid.
Also, more and more young people are addressing hearing loss: a WHO report from 2015 predicted that 1.1 billion teenagers and young adults would injure their hearing irreparably due to over the top use of headphones and louder and louder music events.
However, developing technology and changing attitudes have given hearing aids a new outlook, and 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 obvious and some of them unexpected.
Here are a few of the most common reasons:
- You’re able to hear better (As we said, there were some obvious ones on this list)
- You’ll be able to earn more money
- You can reduce tinnitus symptoms
- You won’t have as hard a time having conversations
- You’re brain won’t need to work so hard
- You can listen to music and television at normal volumes
- You can enjoy social activities and settings again
Are these reasons sounding good to you? Even someone with mild hearing damage can find some advantage from wearing hearing aids.
What many people aren’t aware of is that hearing loss is connected to mental decline, mental health issues, and conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
This could happen for a few different reasons based on research, this involves the overworking of the brain as it battles to comprehend sounds that it hears. It might be that the brain cells don’t receive enough activation so they shrink and die, or it might be related to social isolation, which is a major cause of depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems.
By letting you hear words and sounds around you more clearly, hearing aids can help alleviate these issues. Your brain won’t need to utilize extra resources and will be capable of processing sounds in a normal way, while you will begin to enjoy conversations and social experiences again because you will gain more confidence.
Hearing Aids Have Advanced in Sophistication
By now it should be obvious why people of all ages should wear hearing aids if they require them. Now we’re going to talk about the how; as in, how hearing aid technology has progressed to the point where they’re nothing like your grandparents’ hearing aids.
If really think you would like one of those large over the ear hearing aids, you can still buy one. They perform their function effectively and have advanced to the point where most of them have no problem filtering out background noises such as wind or determining which direction sound comes from. However, there are more modern versions of hearing aids that have advanced technology which makes it effortless for them to fit in with today’s digital world and are virtually unnoticeable.
Would you like to connect your hearing aid to your cellphone, tablet, television, or even your car’s GPS? 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. Smart hearing aids are becoming a must for anybody who has hearing impairment because much like your smartwatch and smartphone, they’re just designed to do more. So now that you are ready to tackle your hearing loss and begin using a hearing aid, consult with us for an appointment and hearing assessment.
