Multiple studies have confirmed that hearing loss can have an impact on your brain. (Just have a look at some of our recent blog posts.) Hearing Aids, luckily, have been shown to be able to help you restore some of that cognitive ability.
We’re not stating that you will get more intelligent just by using hearing aids. But there’s some compelling research that suggests hearing aids can improve cognitive abilities, lowering your risk for depression, dementia, and anxiety.
Your Brain is in Charge of a Large Portion of Your Hearing
To understand the link between your ears and cognition, it’s important to know that a significant portion of your hearing actually happens in your brain. It’s the brain’s job to convert sound vibrations into recognizable sound information. The parts of your brain that translate sound will suddenly have less to do when hearing starts to wane.
In combination with other factors (such as social solitude), the alterations in your brain (and hearing) can trigger the onset of specific mental health issues. In persons with untreated hearing loss, it’s not uncommon to notice an increase in the dangers of depression, anxiety, and dementia.
Your essentially “treating” your hearing loss when you’re using hearing aids. That means:
- Because you’ll be capable of coupling your hearing aids with regular screening and other treatment options, you can help keep your hearing from getting progressively worse.
- Social isolation won’t be as likely. Conversations will be easier to understand and follow, so you’ll be more inclined to engage.
- Your brain stays healthier if it continues working; your brain will be getting a more consistent workout in the parts responsible for hearing.
Staying Attentive
Hearing aids stimulate your brain and your social life and can prevent depression, anxiety, and dementia.
- Creating better awareness: Occasionally, because you aren’t aware of your environment, you may have a fall. Your situational awareness can be significantly hindered by hearing conditions. Not only can it be difficult to hear sounds, but it can also be a challenge to determine what direction sounds are coming from. Without treatment, this can end up resulting in injury or a fall.
- State of the art technology: Hearing aids have begun incorporating novel technology that is able to alert emergency contacts (or emergency services) when a person using the hearing aids experiences a fall. This can minimize long lasting injuries and complications though it won’t stop the fall itself.
- The health of your inner ear: Inner ear injury is not caused by loss of hearing alone. Notwithstanding, sometimes hearing loss and inner ear issues have a mutual cause. At times, a hearing aid is part of the treatment program for hearing loss which can also help inner ear injury.
Ultimately, when you’re using a hearing aid, you’re more likely to avoid a fall to begin with. A hearing aid helps you stay more alert, more perceptive, and more connected, maximizing cognitive abilities and general health at the same time.
Stop Neglecting Your Hearing Aid
We haven’t even yet dealt with the basic hearing benefits of hearing aids. So when you take that amplified hearing, factor in the mental health advantages and physical well-being, it seems like wearing these devices should be an easy choice (Pretty obvious).
The problem is that many people don’t know they have hearing loss. It can be difficult to recognize hearing loss when it develops slowly over time. That’s why it’s significant to have your hearing checked routinely. A wide range of other health problems can be exacerbated by loss of hearing.
Hearing aids will minimize the chances of physical damage while helping to delay dementia and depression. That’s a stunning combination of benefits that hearing aids provide, and they also help you hear.