Hearing aids could benefit around 28 million people. Needless to say, when we talk about data like that, we normally mean that those 28 million people would hear the world a little bit better if they had some help (like hearing aids). But your hearing aids can also help you take advantage of some other health benefits.
It turns out that something as simple as using your hearing aids could help your mental and physical health. These tiny gadgets can help prevent (or forestall) everything from injury from a fall to depression. Your hearing aids can literally keep you on your feet.
Mental Health Advantages of Hearing Aids
Modern medical research has firmly demonstrated a link between cognitive decline and hearing loss. The current thinking is that, for a combination of mental, social, and physical reasons, hearing loss can lead to an escalated risk of mental illness, like anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, and dementia.
So it’s no surprise that recent analyses has suggested that hearing aids could have substantial mental health advantages.
Decreasing Your Risk of Dementia
Your risk of dementia can be reduced, based on one study, by almost 20%. That’s a fantastic advantage when all you have to do is remember to wear your hearing aids on a daily basis.
Other studies have indicated that wearing your hearing aids regularly can delay the onset of dementia by up to two years. Further research needs to be done to help explain and duplicate these results, but it’s certainly encouraging.
Reduce Depression And Anxiety
Countless individuals suffer from depression and anxiety even if they don’t have hearing loss. But people who suffer from hearing loss have been shown to have a higher risk of anxiety and depression over time.
When you use hearing aids, you tend to stay more mentally focused and socially engaged. If those factors were contributing to depression and anxiety, they can help.
You’ll be Less Lonely
While it may not sound as dire or imperative as dementia, for people with untreated hearing loss, loneliness can be a real issue, social solitude often being the cause and worsening symptoms. That social separation can cause substantial changes to your mood. So it can be a tremendous benefit if your hearing aids can help you continue to be socially active.
To be certain, this is connected to your hearing aids’ ability to lower the risks of depression, for example. To a certain degree, all of these health problems are linked in some way.
The Physical Benefits of Hearing Aids
As your hearing impairment worsens, there is some evidence that you might be at a higher risk of stroke. But these studies are in preliminary phases. It’s a little simpler to recognize the more obvious physical advantage of hearing aids: you’ll fall less frequently.
There are a couple of explanations for this:
- Fall detection: Often, it’s getting back up after a fall that is the real danger, not the fall itself. Many new designs of hearing aids come with fall detection as a standard feature. With certain settings equipped, when you take a tumble, a call will automatically be made to one of your pre-programmed emergency contacts so they will know to check up on you.
- Situational awareness: If your pet, as an example, is zooming out to say hi, you will hear them coming and will be prepared for them to be under your feet.
Falling can have very substantial health impacts, particularly as you get older. So avoiding falls (or minimizing the damage from falling) can be a substantial advantage that ripples throughout your overall health.
Wear Your Hearing Aids Everyday
It’s worth keeping in mind that all of these advantages apply to people who suffer from hearing ailments. Hearing aids won’t, for instance, help someone with healthy hearing avoid a fall.
But using your hearing aids, if you do have hearing loss, is the best thing you can do for general health.