Something like 28 million individuals could benefit from wearing hearing aids. Naturally, when we talk about data like that, we normally mean that those 28 million people would hear their surroundings a little bit better if they had some help (in the form of a specialized device). But there are also certain other, fairly surprising health advantages that you can start to take advantage of thanks to your hearing aids.
As it turns out, something as simple as using your hearing aids could be good for your mental and physical health. Everything from a risk of falling to depression 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 Advantages
Modern medical research has solidly established a link between cognitive decline and hearing loss. The current thinking is that, for a combination of mental, social, and physical reasons, hearing loss can lead to an escalated danger of mental illness, like anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, and dementia.
So it’s no surprise that recent analyses has shown that hearing aids could have considerable mental health advantages.
Reducing Your Risk of Dementia
Your chances of dementia can be reduced, as reported by one study, by nearly 20%. And all you need to do to take advantage of this awesome advantage is remember to wear your hearing daily.
Other research has indicated that wearing your hearing aids regularly can slow the onset of dementia by up to a couple of years. Further research has to be carried out to help explain and duplicate these results, but it’s definitely encouraging.
Anxiety And Depression Can be Reduced
Depression and anxiety are not symptoms that are exclusive to those who have hearing loss. But there’s enough evidence to suggest that people who have hearing loss are at increased risk of developing both anxiety and depression as time passes.
When you wear hearing aids, you are likely to stay more mentally focused and engaged socially. If those factors were contributing to anxiety and depression, they can help.
You’ll Feel Less Lonely
While dementia might sound much more extreme, for people who have untreated hearing loss, loneliness can be a real issue, social solitude often being the cause and worsening symptoms. That social separation can cause considerable changes to your disposition. So it can be a tremendous advantage if your hearing aids can help you continue to be socially involved.
And this is an excellent reason why, for example, your hearing aid can help protect against conditions such as depression. To a certain degree, all of these health concerns are linked in some manner.
Hearing Aids And Physical Benefits
As your hearing impairment worsens, there is some research that shows that you might be at a higher risk of stroke. But this research is in preliminary stages. The most obvious (and perceptible) physical advantage of hearing aids is a little simpler: you won’t fall as much.
There are a couple of reasons for this:
- Fall detection: Often, it’s getting back up after a fall that is the real hazard, not the fall itself. Many new designs of hearing aids have fall detection built in. With specific settings enabled, 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: Hearing aids can improve your situational awareness. If your pet, for instance, is zooming out to say hi, you will hear them coming and will be ready for them to be under your feet.
Falling can have pretty substantial health effects, particularly as you age. So preventing falls (or minimizing the damage from falls) can be a significant advantage that ripples throughout your general health.
Wear Your Hearing Aids Everyday
It’s worth noting that all of these advantages apply to people who suffer from hearing conditions. Hearing aids won’t, for example, help someone with healthy hearing avoid falling.
But using your hearing aids, if you do have hearing loss, is the best thing you can do for overall health.