In the past, hearing aids have carried a stigma. Some people just correlate them with aging. The result?
Many people of all ages put themselves at risk from a number of health concerns because they forgo getting hearing aids and choose to deal with hearing loss. This is reinforced by the numbers: 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, more and more young people are coping with hearing loss: a WHO report from 2015 predicted that 1.1 billion teenagers and young adults would injure their hearing permanently due to excessive use of headphones and extremely loud music festivals.
Still, shifting attitudes and sophisticated technology have given hearing aids a new life, and soon they’ll be in the same category as eye-glasses – and contact lenses, for that matter.
Why Should You Wear Hearing Aids
There are a ton of reasons why wearing hearing aids is a smart idea, some of them are surprising and some are obvious.
Here are several of the most common reasons:
- You won’t need to crank the music or TV up
- You’ll raise your earning power
- You can minimize tinnitus symptoms
- Social activities will be more satisfying
- You won’t have as hard a time having conversations
- You’ll be able to hear better (As we said, there were some obvious ones on the list)
- You’re brain won’t need to work so hard
Do these sound like beneficial reasons to you? Even somebody with minor hearing damage can find some advantage from wearing hearing aids.
What many people aren’t aware of is that hearing loss is linked to cognitive decline, mental health issues, and conditions like Alzheimers disease and dementia.
This might happen 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 may be that the brain cells don’t get enough stimulation so they shrink and die, or it may be because of the number one cause of anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems which is social isolation.
By allowing you to hear words and sounds around you more clearly, hearing aids can help alleviate these issues. Your brain can then process the sounds as it typically would without having to use extra resources, while you will begin to enjoy conversations and social experiences again because you will gain more confidence.
Technological Advances in Hearing Aids
By now it should be obvious why people of any age need to use hearing aids if they require them. Now it’s time to find out how hearing aids have advanced in the past few years.
The cumbersome, over-the-ear hearing aids are still out there for the people who want them. They perform their function adequately and have progressed to the point where the majority of them don’t have a problem filtering out background sounds like wind or determining what direction sound comes from. Conversely, there are new and improved versions of hearing aids that have sophisticated technology which makes it straight forward for them to fit in with today’s digital world and are virtually unnoticeable.
Do you want to connect your hearing aid to your smartphone, tablet, tv, or even your car’s GPS? Most modern hearing aids come with 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 today are designed to do more – much like your smartwatch and smartphone, smart hearing aids will come to be a must-have accessory for anyone suffering from hearing impairment. Are you ready to deal with hearing loss and buy yourself a hearing aid? Get in touch with us to discover what kind of hearing aid will be the right one for you.