Hearing aids could benefit approximately 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 (in the form of a specialized device). But your hearing aids will also help you take advantage of some other health advantages.
Your mental and physical health can, as it so happens, be helped by something as straight forward as using hearing aids. These little devices can help stop (or forestall) everything from depression to fall-induced-injury. In more ways than one, your hearing aids can help you stay on your feet.
Hearing Aids And Mental Health Benefits
The connection between untreated hearing loss and cognitive decline is pretty well demonstrated by modern medical research. Mental illnesses like depression, cognitive decline, anxiety, and dementia, in line with current thinking, can be induced by hearing loss as a consequence of a combination of mental, physical and social factors.
So it’s not surprising that recent analyses has suggested that hearing aids might have significant mental health advantages.
Lowering Your Chances of Dementia
Your chances of dementia can be decreased, according to one study, by nearly 20%. And all you have to do to take advantage of this awesome benefit is remember to wear your hearing every day.
Other research has indicated that wearing your hearing aids on a regular basis can slow the onset of dementia by as many as a couple of years. This is really encouraging and with more research conducted to duplicate and clarify these figures, we can come a long way in the fight against cognitive decline and illness.
Reduce Depression And Anxiety
Many people suffer from depression and anxiety even if they don’t have hearing loss. But individuals who suffer from hearing loss have been shown to have a higher risk of depression and anxiety over time.
Wearing your hearing aids can help keep you socially involved and mentally connected. Hearing aids can be especially helpful if those factors are contributing to depression and anxiety.
You’ll be Less Lonely
While it may not sound as serious or important as dementia, isolation can be a serious issue for those who suffer from neglected hearing loss, caused by and exacerbating a sense of social solitude. That social isolation can cause significant changes to your disposition. So it can be a huge benefit if your hearing aids can help you stay socially involved.
To be sure, this is connected to your hearing aids’ ability to lower the risks of depression, for instance. All of these health problems, to some extent, are in some manner connected.
The Physical Advantages of Hearing Aids
There’s some data which indicates that as hearing loss symptoms become more apparent, your danger of stroke escalates. But these studies are in preliminary phases. The most pronounced (and noticeable) physical benefit of hearing aids is a little simpler: you’ll fall less frequently.
This takes place for two reasons:
- Situational awareness: This means you’ll be more capable of avoiding obstacles that might cause a fall.
- Fall detection: Many times, it’s getting back up after a fall that is the significant hazard, not the fall itself. Fall detection is a standard feature of many newer hearing aid models. With particular settings enabled, when you have a fall, a call will automatically be made to one of your pre-programmed emergency contacts so they know to check up on you.
Falling can have very significant health effects, especially as you get older. So your general health can be safeguarded by decreasing damage from falls or avoiding them entirely.
Make Certain You Wear Your Hearing Aids
These benefits, it’s worth mentioning, apply to people who suffer from hearing impairment. If you have healthy hearing, then wearing a hearing aid will probably not decrease your risk of cognitive decline, for instance.
But if you do suffer from hearing loss, the smartest thing you can do for your hearing, and for the rest of your body, is to use your hearing aids.