Hearing aids could benefit about 28 million people. Of course, when we talk about statistics like that, we normally mean that those 28 million people would hear the world a little more clearly if they had some help (like hearing aids). But your hearing aids will also help you enjoy some other health advantages.
Your mental and physical health can, as it so happens, be improved by something as straight forward as using hearing aids. Everything from depression to a risk of falling can be delayed or even stopped by these devices. Your hearing aids can literally keep you on your feet.
Mental Health Benefits of Hearing Aids
The connection between untreated hearing loss and mental decline is rather well demonstrated by modern medical studies. Currently, the thinking is that, for a combination of social, mental, and physical factors, hearing loss can trigger an escalated danger of mental illness, including cognitive decline, anxiety, depression, and dementia.
So the mental health benefits of hearing aids shouldn’t be all that surprising.
Reducing Your Risk of Dementia
As reported by one study, wearing your hearing aids can help lower your risk of developing dementia by up to 18%. That’s a wonderful benefit when the only thing you have to do is remember to wear your hearing aids on a daily basis.
In other studies, the onset of dementia was delayed by as much as two years by wearing hearing aids. This is very encouraging and with more research done to replicate and clarify these numbers, we can come a long way in the fight against cognitive decline and illness.
Decrease Depression And Anxiety
Anxiety and depression are not symptoms that are unique to those who have hearing loss. But people with hearing loss have been shown to be at a higher risk of depression and anxiety over time.
Wearing your hearing aids can help you stay socially involved and mentally engaged. Hearing aids can be particularly helpful if those factors are contributing to depression and anxiety.
You Won’t be as Lonely
While dementia might sound much more severe, isolation can be a serious problem for those who suffer from untreated hearing loss, caused by and exacerbating a sense of social isolation. Your overall mood can be dramatically impacted by social separation. So being able to continue to be social and engaged with help from your hearing aid can be a huge benefit.
To be certain, this is connected to your hearing aids’ ability to lower the risks of depression, for example. All of these health problems, to a certain degree, are in some way connected.
The Physical Advantages of Hearing Aids
There is some evidence which suggests that as hearing loss symptoms become more apparent, your danger of stroke goes up. But that particular research is obviously on the preliminary side. The most obvious (and noticeable) physical benefit of hearing aids is a little more straightforward: you won’t fall as often.
There are a couple of reasons for this:
- Fall detection: Often, it’s getting back up after a fall that is the significant hazard, not the fall itself. Many new designs of hearing aids have fall detection as a standard feature. With particular settings equipped, when you take a tumble, a call will automatically be made to one of your pre-programmed emergency contacts so they know to check up on you.
- Situational awareness: If your pet, for instance, is zooming out to greet you, you will hear them coming and will be ready for them to be under your feet.
As you get older falling down can have a disastrous effect on your health. So your general health can be protected by decreasing damage from falls or avoiding them altogether.
Make Certain You Wear Your Hearing Aids
It’s worth noting that all of these benefits apply to individuals who suffer from hearing ailments. If your hearing is healthy, then using a hearing aid will likely not decrease your risk of dementia, for example.
But if you do have hearing loss, the best thing you can do for your hearing, and for the rest of your body, is to wear your hearing aids.