Our sense of hearing is what connects us to the world around us. Our lives are richer for our conversations with loved ones, the music we love, and the sounds of nature as we hike. For those with hearing loss, certain sounds do not register and speech recognition may become difficult.
While it is estimated that people wait an average of seven years before seeking treatment for hearing loss, there’s no reason to wait! If you believe you are experiencing changes in your hearing, consider these four ways that using a hearing aid will bring obvious benefits to your life.
Benefits to Your Employment
Studies have found that people who treat hearing loss with hearing aids do not experience changes in their earning power. On the other hand, those who do not address their hearing loss may experience a dip in income compared to colleagues with normal hearing and those who use hearing aids.
In the US, 60% of the workforce experiences some degree of hearing loss. Hearing loss, if left untreated, may interfere with concentration, speech understanding, and productivity. Hearing aids improve these experiences for those who experience hearing loss.
Benefits to Your Interpersonal Relationships
Communication is key in interpersonal relationships, whether it is a spouse, child, or friend. With hearing loss, speech recognition becomes difficult – especially with voices of higher frequency, such as those of women and children.
Certain configurations of hearing loss may lead to difficulty differentiating between speech sounds, which lead to confusion on meaning. This could cause friction or conflict. For some, they may hear, but not understand. With hearing loss, the brain must fill in gaps where sound signals are not clear, and thus speech patterns may not always be anticipated. This could lead to frustration in communication.
Additionally, hearing loss causes people to become anxious with social interaction, leading to avoidance and social isolation. Hearing aids are designed to address issues with speech recognition. They offer features to eliminate background noise and allow the hearing aid wearer to focus on specific speakers, in many different settings – whether it is in a quiet conversation or at a loud restaurant.
Benefits to Your Health
Recent studies from Johns Hopkins have found potential links between untreated hearing loss and an increased risk of dementia. With hearing loss, the brain struggles to make sense of muddled audio signals and thus expends much energy on filling in the gaps. This could lead to a heavier cognitive load, which may contribute to a risk for dementia. Hearing aids provide clearer signals to the brain, reducing the cognitive load.
Johns Hopkins researchers found that study participants who used hearing aids to treat hearing loss had better cognitive function than counterparts who did not treat their hearing loss. In the long run, this could support brain function and potentially reduce the risk of dementia.
Improved Safety and Security
Our sense of hearing keeps us safe by providing us with localization within our environment. By hearing, you are able to sense how far away you are from a vehicle or that a fire alarm is going off in your building. Additionally, our auditory center is shared with our body’s balance mechanisms. With untreated hearing loss, we may experience balance issues. Studies have found that people with untreated hearing loss experienced higher rates of hospitalization due to falls and accidents. Hearing aids have been designed to capture sounds from our environment, in order to keep us grounded and aware of whatever environments we find ourselves in.
Are you ready to experience the benefits of hearing aids? Contact us today at Lifestyle Hearing Solutions.