Hearing aids could benefit about 28 million people. Which means that 28 million people would here their world better if they wore hearing aids. But your hearing aids will also help you take advantage of some other health advantages.
It turns out that something as simple as using your hearing aids could be good for your mental and physical health. These little gadgets can help prevent (or delay) everything from injury from a fall to depression. Your hearing aids can literally help you stay on your feet.
Mental Health Advantages of Hearing Aids
The link between untreated hearing loss and mental decline is rather well demonstrated by modern medical studies. Mental illnesses including depression, cognitive decline, anxiety, and dementia, in line with current thinking, can be triggered by hearing loss due to a combination of mental, physical and social factors.
So it’s not surprising that recent analyses has suggested that hearing aids may have considerable mental health advantages.
Decreasing Your Chances of Dementia
According to one study, wearing your hearing aids can help lower your risk of developing dementia by as much as 18%. And all you need to do to make the most of this amazing benefit is remember to wear your hearing every day.
Other studies have indicated that wearing your hearing aids regularly can slow the onset of dementia by up to two years. Further research has to be carried out to help explain and duplicate these findings, but it’s certainly encouraging.
Depression And Anxiety Can be Reduced
Lots of individuals suffer from depression and anxiety even if hearing loss is not a problem for them. But there is plenty of evidence to suggest that those with hearing loss are at a higher risk of developing both anxiety and depression as time goes on.
When you have hearing aids, you are likely to stay more tuned in mentally and socially engaged. Hearing aids can be especially helpful if those factors are contributing to depression and anxiety.
You’ll be Less Lonely
While dementia might sound much more extreme, for individuals with untreated hearing loss, isolation can be a genuine problem, caused by and exacerbating a sense of social solitude. Your overall mood can be dramatically affected by social separation. So it can be an enormous benefit if your hearing aids can help you remain socially involved.
And this is a good reason why, for example, your hearing aid can help protect against conditions such as depression. To some degree, all of these health conditions are linked in some manner.
The Physical Advantages of Hearing Aids
As your hearing impairment gets worse, there is some evidence that you may be at a higher risk of having a stroke. But that particular research is undoubtedly on the preliminary side. It’s a little easier to recognize the more pronounced physical benefit of hearing aids: you won’t fall as much.
This happens for two reasons:
- Fall detection: At times, it’s not the fall that’s hazardous. Instead, it’s that you can’t get back up that creates possible danger. Fall detection is a standard feature of many newer hearing aid designs. With certain settings equipped, when you have a fall, a call will automatically be made to one of your pre-programmed emergency contacts so they will know to check on you.
- Situational awareness: With hearing aids, your situational awareness will be enhanced allowing you to steer clear of obstacles and avoid falling. For instance, if your pet is running to greet you, you hear them and anticipate them rushing around the corner.
Falling can have very substantial health impacts, particularly as you age. So preventing falls (or reducing the damage from falls) can be a major benefit that ripples throughout your overall health.
Wear Your Hearing Aids Everyday
It’s worth noting that all of these benefits apply to those who have hearing ailments. Hearing aids won’t, for instance, help someone with healthy hearing avoid falling.
But if you do have hearing loss, the best thing you can do for your hearing, and for overall health, is to use your hearing aids.