We often don’t appreciate how essential our sense of hearing is until it’s too late. Strong hearing enhances our lives by improving our mental, social, and physical health. You might not even realize how much you’re jeopardizing your overall health if you’re failing to protect your hearing or ignoring your existing hearing loss. Healthy hearing has numerous benefits, here are a few:
Enhanced Physical Health
According to a survey administered by Hear The World Foundation, 21 percent of participants reported exercising more frequently after obtaining hearing aids. Additionally, 34 percent of participants with hearing aids stated they were participating in sports activities at least once every week.
Improved Mental Health
According to studies by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, hearing impairment has been linked to clinical depression, and also an increased chance of suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The good news is, the use of hearing aids has been shown to help reverse or prevent many of these issues.
Improved Relationships
Communication is important in any relationship, especially with family and friends. Frustration, miscommunication, and ill will can result from hearing loss. By enhancing your hearing by wearing hearing aids, you will be better able to participate in conversations, particularly in crowded rooms, public places, or other settings with lots of background noise.
Improved Mental Abilities
In individuals with hearing impairment, a 2016 study showed that wearing hearing aids boosts brain function. Cognition is interrupted by hearing loss as the brain uses additional resources trying to hear and understand.
Fewer Tinnitus Symptoms
Individuals who experience hearing loss will be able to hear sounds they previously couldn’t when they wear hearing aids. By enhancing the stimulus between the brain and auditory pathways, hearing aids can help hide and reduce tinnitus symptoms. Hearing aids also have volume controls that let the wearer effectively drown out tinnitus sounds.
Decreased Fatigue
Stress, tiredness, and exhaustion can be the result when you need to use extra energy to hear and comprehend what people are saying. Hearing aids not only help you hear and communicate more efficiently, but they also help you conserve energy by using less effort when listening.
Improved Safety
Better hearing means you will be able to respond to critical sounds and noises that occur in your day-to-day life. Sirens, alarms, cell phones, car horns, and other traffic sounds identifying approaching traffic, need to be heard and hearing aids will help you do that.
Fewer Headaches
Headaches and even migraines often come with tinnitus which can, in turn, make the tinnitus symptoms even worse. Wearing hearing aids can decrease the symptoms of tinnitus, and thus reduce the frequency and intensity of headaches and migraines.
Improved Speech
Young children who are still establishing early language skills need to have any hearing concerns addressed as soon as possible. There may be fluid in the child’s inner middle ears canal which may require a tube to be surgically implanted for drainage. A hearing aid might be required for more severe conditions to ensure they are learning to talk accurately and clearly.
Even adults enunciate and communicate better when they hear clearly.
Greater Workplace Confidence
If you’re going to complete your everyday work tasks competently, you need to be able to hear. Unfinished tasks, missed deadlines, and misunderstandings will be the result if you are unable to hear conversations with coworkers. Using hearing aids can help you eliminate these problems, and allow you to take greater pride and fulfillment in your career. Better workplace communication and increased production will also improve the disposition of your coworkers.
You should contact your local hearing professional if you think hearing loss is causing you to miss out on essential conversations. They can help you determine if hearing aids will help you hear better and enhance your overall health.
References
- https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/hearing_loss_accelerates_brain_function_decline_in_older_adults
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/in-the-journals-hearing-aids-may-help-improve-brain-function#:~:text=A%20study%20to%20be%20published,according%20to%20lead%20researcher%20Dr.
