Hearing aids could benefit about 28 million people. Needless to say, when we talk about statistics like that, we generally 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 certain other, somewhat surprising health advantages that you can start to enjoy thanks to your hearing aids.
Your mental and physical health can, as it so happens, be helped by something as easy as wearing hearing aids. Everything from depression to a risk of falling can be delayed 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 demonstrated a connection between cognitive decline and hearing loss. Mental illnesses including dementia, cognitive decline, anxiety, and depression, according to current thinking, can be triggered by hearing loss due to a mix of physical, mental and social factors.
So it’s no surprise that recent analyses has shown that hearing aids could have considerable mental health benefits.
Lowering Your Risk of Dementia
Your chances of dementia can be reduced, based on one study, by nearly 20%. That’s a wonderful benefit when all you have to do is remember to wear your hearing aids every day.
In other studies, the onset of dementia was delayed by as much as two years by using hearing aids. This is very encouraging and with more research conducted to duplicate and clarify these numbers, we can come a long way in the fight against cognitive decline and illness.
Reduce Depression And Anxiety
Anxiety and depression aren’t symptoms that are unique to people who have hearing loss. But people with hearing loss have been shown to have a higher risk of anxiety and depression over time.
When you use hearing aids, you are likely to stay more tuned in mentally and engaged socially. Hearing aids can be particularly helpful if those factors are contributing to depression and anxiety.
You’ll be Less Lonely
While dementia may sound much more extreme, solitude can be a serious problem for individuals who suffer from untreated hearing loss, social isolation often being the cause and adding fuel to the fire. That social isolation can cause significant changes to your mood. So it can be a huge benefit if your hearing aids can help you remain socially involved.
And this is an excellent reason why, for instance, your hearing aid can help protect against conditions like depression. All of these health problems, to some extent, are in some way connected.
Hearing Aids And Physical Advantages
There’s some evidence which indicates that as hearing loss symptoms become more noticeable, your risk of stroke escalates. But these studies are in preliminary stages. The most obvious (and perceptible) physical benefit of hearing aids is a little simpler: you’ll fall less frequently.
This takes place for two reasons:
- Fall detection: Sometimes, it’s not the fall that’s dangerous. Instead, it’s that you can’t get back up that creates possible danger. Many new models of hearing aids come with fall detection built in. You can save emergency phone numbers into your phone which will be automatically called if you take a tumble.
- Situational awareness: With hearing aids, your situational awareness will be enhanced letting you steer clear of obstacles and avoid falling down.
Falling can have very substantial health impacts, especially as you age. So your overall health can be protected by decreasing damage from falls or preventing them altogether.
Wear Your Hearing Aids Everyday
These benefits, it’s worth pointing out, apply to people who have hearing impairment. 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 smartest thing you can do for overall health.