That hearing loss can affect your brain has been established in several studies. (Some of our previous blogs clearly show that.) Hearing Aids, luckily, have been shown to be able to help you restore some of that cognitive capacity.
We’re not saying that you will get more intelligent just by using hearing aids. But there’s some compelling research that suggests cognitive ability can be increased by wearing hearing aids lowering your risk for depression, dementia, and anxiety.
You Carry Out a Lot of Hearing With Your Brain
To recognize the link between your ears and cognition, it’s important to realize that a substantial percentage of your hearing actually takes place in your brain. It’s the brain’s job to transform sound vibrations into perceptible sound information. The parts of your brain that translate sound will suddenly have less to do when hearing starts to wane.
Changes in your brain (and hearing), coupled with other considerations (such as social solitude), can trigger the beginning of mental health issues. Anxiety, depression, and dementia are a lot more evident in individuals who have untreated hearing loss.
Your effectively “treating” your hearing loss when you’re using hearing aids. That means:
- You can stop your hearing from getting worse by using hearing aids along with regular screening.
- Your brain will stay healthier if it keeps working; your brain will be getting a more regular workout in the parts responsible for hearing.
- Social alienation won’t be as likely. You will be more likely to participate with others if you can hear and understand conversations.
Keeping You on Your Toes
Hearing aids can prevent depression, anxiety, and dementia because they enhance your brain and your social life.
- Inner ear health: Inner ear damage is not brought on by loss of hearing alone. But there is typically a common cause for both loss of hearing and damage to the inner ear. Sometimes, a hearing aid is a component of the treatment strategy for loss of hearing which can also help inner ear injury.
- Creating stronger awareness: Sometimes, you fall because you’re not aware of your environment. Your situational awareness can be significantly hampered by hearing problems. Identifying which direction sound is coming from can be as difficult as hearing sound in general. A fall or other accident can be the result.
- New technology: Hearing aids have started incorporating unique technology that can actually notify emergency contacts (or emergency services) when a person using the hearing aids has a fall. This might not stop the fall in the first place, but it can prevent long-lasting injuries or complications caused by the fall.
Ultimately, when you’re using a hearing aid, you’re more likely to avoid a fall to start with. A hearing aid helps you stay more alert, more perceptive, and more connected, improving cognitive abilities and physical health in the process.
Stop Neglecting Your Hearing Aid
We haven’t even touched on the fact that a hearing aid can also help you hear. So when you take into consideration that amplified hearing, factor in the mental health benefits and physical well-being, it seems like using these devices should be a simple decision (not something you need to overthink).
The problem is that many people don’t know they have hearing loss. It can be difficult to identify loss of hearing when it happens slowly over time. That’s the reason why it’s essential to get your hearing examined on a regular basis. A wide range of other health concerns can be aggravated by loss of hearing.
The ideal hearing aid can, in part, slow the beginning of despair and dementia, while reducing the occasions of certain physical incidents. That’s a striking combination of advantages that hearing aids offer, and they also help your hearing.