8 Ways Hearing Aids Help Improve Your Mental Health
The connection between hearing loss and cognitive decline has been well established and proved by modern medical studies. The current thinking is that hearing loss can contribute to increased risks of mental illnesses, including depression, anxiety, dementia, and cognitive decline.
We all know and appreciate the importance of quality communication and how it helps us lead healthy lives and develop strong relationships. Hearing aids help make this possible by helping you and your loved ones have better communication through improved hearing.
Because of the impact hearing has on your life, it’s no surprise that hearing aids can improve nearly every aspect. Below, we discuss the advantages of using hearing aids on your mental health and why you need them to help manage your hearing loss.
How Hearing Aids Help Enhance Mental Well-Being
Don’t be deceived by their small appearances, as hearing aids have huge benefits for their wearers. Here are some ways they can improve your mental health:
Hearing Aids Can Reduce the Risks of Cognitive Decline
When living with untreated hearing loss, different parts of your brain, especially ones dealing with speech recognition, can degrade. With time, this contributes to higher risks of cognitive decline and your ability to understand other people may also worsen.
Even if you’re relatively young, hearing loss can still increase your risk of cognitive decline as you get older. Hearing aids help to slow this process by keeping those parts of your brain active.
Hearing Aids Can Lower Levels of Depression
Anxiety and depression are not symptoms unique to persons with hearing loss. However, significant evidence indicates that people with hearing loss are more likely to develop depression and anxiety.
Hearing aids help you stay engaged socially and tuned in mentally, which can help fight anxiety and depression caused by hearing loss.
Hearing Aids Can Improve Memory and Mental Acuity
A study by Texas A&M University found that after just six weeks of using hearing aids, patients with hearing loss started showing improvements in their overall brain performance.
The study concluded that besides stabilizing your cognitive functions, hearing aids also improved your memory, ability to focus, and mental sharpness. They allowed participants to process information and react faster.
Wearing Hearing Aids Can Reduce Stress
Hearing other people communicate and the different sounds of your surroundings is always good for your health. Not being able to hear soft sounds like waves by the ocean or birds chirping can be quite stressful, even more so if you’ve heard these sounds before but now are having problems.
Wearing hearing aids help you hear sounds again, including the relaxing sounds of nature that can help reduce your stress levels.
Hearing Aids Can Improve Your Social Life
When left untreated, hearing loss can make your day-to-day interactions quite challenging. In more severe cases, this may make you feel socially isolated from other people.
Establishing supportive social relations helps you to have better health outcomes. These may include improved mental and physical health and longer life expectancy. Hearing aids are perfect options for amplifying sound, allowing you to hear better and with more clarity. You will also be more confident communicating with others.
Hearing Aids May Reduce the Risk of Falling for Seniors
A study by the NIA shows that hearing loss can triple your risk of falls by about 140% for every additional ten decibels of hearing loss you experience.
Most people who cannot hear well aren’t always aware of what is going on around them, making them more likely to bump into others or not hear their pets run between their feet. Balancing also requires brainpower to help you stay upright and take in your surroundings. Those with untreated hearing loss are often dedicating more mental resources to hearing, meaning balance may suffer.
Decrease Your Risk of Dementia
Wearing the appropriate hearing aids for your hearing condition can help reduce your risks of dementia significantly. This should be enough motivation for you to learn more about them or wear them daily.
With more studies done to clarify these numbers, you can rest easy knowing hearing aids could help in the fight against illnesses and mental decline.
Foster Relationships
Humans are naturally social and communicate with each other to develop bonds and relationships. The same is true for maintaining friendships and personal relationships. Therefore, it can be quite stressful not to be able to hear your loved ones have conversations with you or each other.
Hearing loss limits social encounters and can disrupt the flow of conversations, sometimes making them impossible altogether. However, wearing hearing aids allows you to contribute to conversations, helping you to foster even stronger relationships.
Ensure You Have the Right Hearing Aid with Our Experts
The benefits mentioned above make it worth pointing out that hearing loss can impact your mental health significantly. Hearing aids are the smartest investments you can get today if you have hearing loss. These devices not only improve your overall hearing but also help you lead a healthy life.
At Bravo Hearing Centre, we understand just how challenging hearing loss can be. Don’t let your hearing loss impact your mental, physical, and social health. Contact us today to book a hearing test.
