Sustained Benefits of Hearing Aids

If you're starting to experience the symptoms of hearing loss, then it may be time to start thinking about wearing hearing aids. Hearing technology has evolved drastically over the past few years, and the new, more connected models available today can enhance your quality of life without any of the drawbacks you may have previously associated with them. The key is working with an experienced hearing instrument specialist (HIS) to make the selection that will best suit you and your lifestyle. 

While it may not be possible to return your hearing completely, it is remarkable what an impact the right hearing aids can have on your quality of life. Just the simple act of being able to properly hear and participate fully in conversations can be transformative. Other people report really enjoying subtle soundscapes which have not been a part of their lives for a while, such as birdsong, or waves on the shore, or the breeze stirring leaves in the trees. Studies show that using hearing aids has a huge range of benefits for your psychological, social and physical health and your sense of wellbeing. Hearing loss affects 50 million people in the US, so it is a very common problem – in fact, it's the third most common health condition in the country, after heart disease and arthritis. And yet only around 20 per cent of those who need to use a hearing aid actually do. 

What hearing aids can do for you 

They can improve your social life and relationships with family and friends, help you to regain confidence that you may have lost when your hearing faltered, boost your mental health, enable you to concentrate better and for longer, feel more independent and better able to enjoy interaction with others and even to improve performance in your job. It may be a little bit of an adjustment at first, but once you've made the step, you'll get so much out of it.

Improve Your Quality of Life

Life is all about making connections – and, if you have been experiencing hearing loss – you may not have been able to use that ability to its fullest extent. Many of us try to hide hearing loss out of embarrassment and will avoid asking people to repeat themselves or get very good at covering up the fact that we can't hear properly by offering vague responses. This may seem harmless enough, but over time it has the ability to really impact on the quality of our conversations and therefore our interactions with others and our relationships.

The people talking to us don't feel as if we are listening so they stop trying as much, and in turn we can't take in information. Over time this can really affect how we communicate with our loved ones. Getting support with improving our hearing can restore the channels of communication and really improve the relationships which make up a huge part of our quality of life. 

Boost your earning power 

It's a funny thing, but getting hearing aids could actually be good for your bank balance. Yes, studies have found that untreated hearing loss can mean that your annual earnings take a hit of as much as $30,000. That is a very significant number. When you correct this, the risk of decreased earnings reduces by over 90% in cases of mild hearing loss and nearly 77% for those with moderate or severe hearing loss. So, making the decision to get hearing aids can really increase your earning power. 

Slow down cognitive issues 

Untreated hearing loss has been linked with a higher risk of developing dementia and other loss of cognitive function, and these studies seem to show a correlation between the greatest decline in function and those who do not wear hearing aids to correct their auditory loss. It has also been found that reducing hearing function can actually accelerate deterioration in the areas of the brain which process sound, meaning that understanding speech becomes more difficult. Hearing aids have been shown to have the beneficial effect of halting this decline while boosting hearing ability. 

Reduce the discomfort of tinnitus

Tinnitus is a persistent high-pitched ringing or clicking noise in the ears, usually accompanied by some degree of hearing loss. Amazingly, more than 50 million Americans experience this condition, which can be highly debilitating. Hearing aids can help to reduce this condition, with some having specific masking features that alleviate it. This can eliminate a huge source or annoyance and stress and improve quality of life for wearers. Finding the right hearing aid for you is vital in addressing issues and helping you lead a better life. Discover more about how your life could change with hearing aids by calling Niagara Hearing and Speech Clinic at (855) 797-8002.