Hearing aids could benefit around 28 million people. Naturally, when we discuss data like that, we usually mean that those 28 million individuals would hear their surroundings a little more clearly if they had some help (like hearing aids). But there are also some other, rather surprising health advantages that you can begin to enjoy thanks to your hearing aids.
It turns out that something as simple as using your hearing aids could be good for your mental and physical health. Everything from depression to a risk of falling can be slowed or even prevented by these gadgets. Your hearing aids can literally help you stay on your feet.
Hearing Aids And Mental Health Benefits
Modern medical research has firmly established a connection between hearing loss and cognitive decline. The current thinking is that, for a combination of social, mental, and physical factors, hearing loss can trigger an escalated danger of mental illness, such as anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, and dementia.
So the mental health benefits of hearing aids shouldn’t be very striking.
Dementia Risks Decreased
According to one study, wearing your hearing aids can help lower your risk of developing dementia by as much as 18%. That’s a wonderful advantage when the only thing you have to do is remember to wear your hearing aids every day.
Other studies have indicated that wearing your hearing aids regularly can slow the onset of dementia by as many as two years. Further research needs to be carried out to help clarify and duplicate these findings, but it’s certainly encouraging.
Decrease Anxiety And Depression
Many people suffer from depression and anxiety even if hearing loss is not a problem for them. But there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that people who have hearing loss are at a higher risk of developing both depression and anxiety as time goes on.
When you use hearing aids, you tend to stay more mentally focused and socially engaged. Hearing aids can be especially helpful if those factors are contributing to depression and anxiety.
You Won’t Feel as Lonely
While dementia might sound much more extreme, loneliness can be a big problem for individuals with untreated hearing loss, social solitude often being the cause and worsening symptoms. That social separation can cause considerable changes to your mood. So being able to stay social and connected thanks to your hearing aid can be a huge advantage.
To be sure, this ties together with your hearing aids’ ability to reduce the risks of depression, for example. To some degree, all of these health problems are linked in some manner.
The Physical Advantages of Hearing Aids
As your hearing impairment worsens, there is some research that shows that you may be at a higher risk of stroke. But that particular research is undoubtedly on the preliminary side. The most obvious (and noticeable) physical benefit of hearing aids is a little simpler: you’ll fall less often.
This occurs for two reasons:
- Fall detection: Often, it’s getting back up after a fall that is the real hazard, not the fall itself. Fall detection is a built-in feature of many newer hearing aid designs. You can save emergency phone numbers into your phone which will be automatically called if you take a tumble.
- Situational awareness: Hearing aids can improve your situational awareness.
As you grow older falling down can have a devastating effect on your health. So your general health can be safeguarded by decreasing damage from falls or preventing them entirely.
Wear Your Hearing Aids Everyday
These benefits, it’s worth pointing out, apply to individuals who have hearing impairment. If your hearing is healthy, then wearing a hearing aid will likely not reduce your risk of dementia, for example.
But wearing your hearing aids, if you do have hearing loss, is the smartest thing you can do for general health.