Hearing aids, just like their name suggests, are devices used to help improve hearing. They don’t restore normal hearing. Yet, they can drastically help to enhance hearing and make it easier.
With the new digital technology available, hearing aids offer more clarity- more hearing and less strain. Their image improved substantially, and the satisfaction rates are increasing drastically.
Hearing loss can have a huge impact on all areas of your life. It can affect your health and happiness. However, the right and best quality hearing aids alleviate these problems. Here are some major benefits to wearing hearing aids.
What are hearing aids?
There are many different types of hearing aids. Hearing aids come in different shapes, sizes and models. They are devices that use microphones to pick up the sound and adjust it digitally. As technology is improving every year, they are becoming smaller and less discreet.
They amplify sound and improve the ability to understand speech even when found in noisy environments. They are beneficial to those with moderate to severe hearing loss.
Most of them can be connected using Bluetooth connectivity to your phone.
Sometimes, we feel a change in our hearing and other times, the people closest to us notices this change before we do. When this happens, you should get your hearing checked. The audiologist will complete several hearing loss tests to determine the type of hearing loss, its symptoms and its treatments. They will then provide different hearing aid fitting to choose the right and best hearing aid for you that fit your budget and lifestyle.
Some types are available straight away. Others may need to be custom-made after the fitting. It includes measuring the ear or taking a cast of the ear. This process usually takes few weeks for the hearing aids to be ready.
Once ready, it will be programmed to match your level of hearing. You will be told how to use them and take care of them. Another appointment will be arranged after few weeks as a follow-up to check how things are going and how you are adapting to them.
Importance of hearing aids
Untreated hearing loss is linked to many health dangers. It influences the social life of the patient. They start to withdraw from their environment and their usual activities. This leads to depression, anxiety and loneliness.
However, treating hearing loss through using hearing aids can improve the patient’s quality of life. There is so much more to wearing hearing aids than just improving hearing. They can make you healthier and stronger physically and mentally.
Many scientific studies have shown that:
Physical and mental stress decreases gradually.
Users experience better sleep.
Risk of developing dementia is reduced.
Family relations and personal relationships are improved.
Wearers show better job performance.
Advantages of having two hearing aids
You can wear one hearing aid if you have hearing loss in only one ear. If you have hearing loss in both ears but wear only one hearing aid, your hearing will be disrupted and unbalanced. The hearing aids will not be effective anymore and they will lose their impact on hearing.
Wearing two hearing aids is hugely recommended due to the following reasons:
You will have the chance to localize where the sound is coming from.
You will activate the cells of your central nervous system. When you supply sounds to your hearing aid, it usually sends information to the brain. If your brain fails to receive this sound on one side, the cells will not be active and may deteriorate.
You will be able to hear better in noisy environments. Dual microphones cancel out the interfering background noise.
How can hearing aids help you?
Hearing better
You can hear sounds that you were not able to previously hear in a long time. Few examples include birds singing, doorbell ringing, rain drops, rustling in the wind, music and your own family and children’s voices.
You don’t have to worry and ask people to repeat what they are saying. You will be able to understand everything said to you.
Your TV won’t need to be put up so loud.
You can clearly hear over the telephone.
More energy
Part of what hearing loss makes to you is make you tired all the time. You constantly struggle to work more and understand all the sounds around you. This can make you feel exhausted.
Hearing aids decrease this added load and help you stay energized.
You feel more connected to the world around you and aware of everything happening.
You can engage in regular exercises and activities.
Improved physical health
Untreated hearing loss can cause physical injuries, mainly falls due to the shared vestibular (balance) and cochlear(hearing) pathology. The vestibular system sits in the inner ear and sends messages to the brain to help us stay balanced.
Using hearing aids can improve your balance.
Many studies showed there is a link between hearing loss, heart diseases and high blood pressure. Poor blood flow to the inner ear’s vessels affect the hair cells found in the cochlea responsible for transmitting signals to the brain.
Improved communication and relationships
Not being able to hear at all social gatherings can cause frustration, mental fatigue, awkwardness and a sense of isolation.
Being able to hear will allow the wearer to participate more in conversations and be more engaged with the world.
You will be able to communicate with your family and friends, leading to healthier and longer-lasting relationships.
You will not miss parts of conversations happening around you. You will no longer fell out of the loop.
Reduced auditory fatigue
We don’t realize the importance of specific organs until they don’t function properly anymore.
When hearing loss happens, the ears don’t function normally.
Information won’t be sent to the brain and the link between the nervous and auditory systems will be missed.
Distinguishing between important and unimportant information can become challenging and exhausting.
Areas of the brain related to speech recognition degrade.
Hearing aids can slow this process and make all this easier!
More independence
Hearing loss can make your life hard, especially while doing the regular chores and tasks you usually do during the day. For example, driving becomes dangerous if you are not able to hear properly. Grocery shopping becomes distressing and uncomfortable.
More self-confidence
Wearing hearing aids help you gain your self-confidence again and do all these activities on your own, without any help from others. You can navigate on your own.
Better and higher income
Hearing loss can have an effect on your performance at work. Answering the phone or following instructions become impossible tasks for you.
Using hearing aids help you improve your performance and become more efficient and effective.
You can increase your contacts with your customers and clients or with your colleagues at the office.
Less tinnitus symptoms
Tinnitus causes ringing or different sounds in the ear.
It causes a lot of problems with concentration and sleep.
Wearing hearing aids can help combat these symptoms and ‘mask’ them in a way where u don’t pay attention to them anymore. Your focus will be on what you want to hear other than these sounds.
You can ask the audiologist for suggestions concerning the right hearing aids that help reduce tinnitus.
Don’t be deceived by the hearing aids’ tiny appearance. They have huge benefits. All of the abovementioned ways can greatly increase personal and social satisfaction. Those who decide to treat their hearing loss and use hearing aids can have better health, emotional well-being and professional success and accomplishments.
Stay healthy, be more alert and reduce any future health risks that can occur as you age and grow up.