Of course, hearing aids help wearers to hear better, however, the most important benefits of hearing aids permeate well beyond our ears. Deciding to treat your hearing loss with hearing aids can actually help you to live a happier, healthier, wealthier and more fulfilled life. We love hearing stories from our clients about the benefits of their new hearing aids in these areas and more. Using anecdotal commentary from individuals as well as scientific research, we outline some of the ways hearing aids can help you live happier, healthier and wealthier.
Hearing Aids Keep You Happy
The pursuit of happiness is an intrinsic motivator for all of us. So much so that it is one of the most famous passages from the Declaration of Independence! We all want to lead happy and fulfilled lives, and hearing aids can help us to do that. Hearing aids help keep us happy because they help us reconnect with those we love. When you can hear and understand conversations around you, you are more likely to feel connected to those you are spending time with. Hearing aids not only help us better communicate with those we care about in noisy environments, they also help us to capture the subtle joys of life we may have forgotten we were missing. For example, whispered “I love yous” from your spouse during a play, or the sound of your grandchild quietly sounding out the words to her favorite book under her covers – even though she is supposed to be sleeping.
When we can hear the world around us, we are much more likely to feel connected to it, which in turn makes us feel happier. Recent scientific research has uncovered that of all the many benefits of hearing aids, the most profound benefit is improved social interaction and social connection. Hearing aids have also been linked to a decreased risk of experiencing isolation, depression, and anxiety.
Hearing Aids Keep You Healthy
To stay healthy, we all know that we should be getting regular exercise and eating a healthy and balanced diet. Treating hearing loss with hearing aids is not typically the first solution people look to when making healthy lifestyle choices, but perhaps it should be! Untreated hearing loss has been found to be a risk factor for many health conditions, including hypertension, diabetes, and even dementia. Treating hearing loss with hearing aids can help to mitigate these risk factors.
In 2011, a study out of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine unveiled that people with untreated hearing loss were up to five times as likely as their peers without hearing loss to have developed dementia over the course of the study. Follow-up studies have found that treating hearing loss with hearing aids can actually mitigate and greatly slow down the rate of dementia.
Hearing Aids Keep You Wealthy
While hearing aids are a financial investment in personal health for most people, they quickly pay for themselves. For most jobs, being able to hear the conversations around you are a critical aspect of the role. Whether you often sit in board meetings with many people or spend a lot of time on the phone with clients, understanding what others are saying is key for success. People who choose to treat hearing loss with hearing aids are typically seen as more intelligent and more competent than their peers who do not treat their hearing loss, according to a recent study. On top of this perception, it has been reported that people with untreated hearing loss are more likely to have been passed up for a promotion than their peers who treat their hearing loss with hearing aids.
Lifestyle Hearing Solutions
Is untreated hearing loss keeping you from living your happiest, healthiest, and wealthiest life? Maybe you have noticed that you are no longer excited about social situations you used to love because conversations are frustrating. Perhaps you understand the annoying feeling of being able to “hear” people around you, but you cannot understand them. Maybe the people closest to you complain that you are not listening to them.
If you are experiencing any of these, you may be living with untreated hearing loss. Reach out to our friendly team at Lifestyle Hearing Solutions today to schedule your first hearing consultation.