Can Hearing Aids Keep You Happy, Healthy, and Wealthy? Noone in the world would turn down the chance to improve their quality of life. But that?s what people might be doing if they don’t treat their hearing loss.
People who treat their hearing loss are happier, healthier, and wealthier. People with hearing loss who don’t use hearing aids tend to be less happy and less healthy. And even less wealthy in some cases.
This is the conclusion of a lengthy report titled Hearing Loss? Numbers and Costs? by Professor Emerita Bridget Shield of the Brunel University in London, UK. Let’s have a look at the study’s findings in three areas:
1. Improved Happiness
The study showed that over 80% of people in the study had improved overall well being and quality of life. They had less physical and mental exhaustion, adequate sleep, reduced depression, and improved memory recall. The report also mentioned improved social connections. This is an important factor in overall happiness.
Hearing loss can negatively affect your relationship with those you love the most. Your partner or spouse might find it frustrating too because they have to repeat themselves often.
It may be that your friends are disappointed because you don’t call them as often. There’s a reason why people with hearing loss are less likely to talk on the phone. Hearing on the telephone is far harder than hearing in person. This is because you can not use body language to compensate for trouble understanding. These issues may eventually put a lot of stress on your social relationships. But these issues could improve with hearing aids. That?s why hearing aids are so important.
Hearing aid wearers were also very satisfied with their hearing aids, in general.
The study showed that around 70% of users were happy with their hearing aids. This is part of a continued increase in satisfaction over the past 30 years. Probably due to improvements in hearing aid technology.
2. Improved Health
Hearing loss leads to an increased chance of developing long-term diseases, according to the report. It also leads to a decrease in physical activity. Also, a more recent finding is the link to cognitive diseases such as dementia.
It’s not hard to see why hearing loss might lead to a reduction in physical activity. The ears are the main element in maintaining balance they help individuals to keep it. So you’re in danger of falling if you do not hear well. Another recent study suggests that even a mild hearing loss gives you three times the risk of falling. Physical activity is related to balance. This can make people less willing to engage in sports and other activities. In turn, this leads to a reduction in cardiovascular abilities and strength. By improving hearing and subsequent balance, the use of hearing aids can improve the propensity to be physically active.
The dementia link has been supported by a slew of recent research on the subject. A recent study was done in the United Kingdom. It found that hearing aid use slowed down the development of cognitive decline by as much as 75%. The connection needs more research. But, researchers suggest there are two reasons why hearing loss might lead to cognitive decline.
Firstly, there is the cognitive load concept. This is, when people struggle to understand others in noisy environments, they divert the brain’s resources. This overloads the brain and reduces resources for other tasks like memory recall.
Secondly, hearing loss leads to fewer social interactions which increase the risk of social isolation, a key precondition for dementia. By improving the ability to hear, hearing aids improve the conditions for social interaction. This reduces the risk of dementia in the long run.
3. Improved earning potential
The study also found that hearing-impaired people are more likely to be in lower-status occupations. This, coupled with the tendency of those with hearing loss to retire earlier, means that their overall average income is only 75% of those with normal hearing. Simply put, those with untreated hearing loss have reduced earning potential.
Untreated hearing loss also leads to a higher rate of unemployment. Around 64% of hearing-impaired people of working age are in full or part-time employment, compared with around 77% of the general population. According to Professor Shields.
Why is this? Hearing loss impairs our ability to understand speech, causing communication challenges in the workplace. Furthermore, your brain’s mental stress may be damaging to other parts of the body that may interfere with your workplace productivity. This is why wearing hearing aids can actually improve job performance.
Hearing Group
At Hearing Group, we offer a complete range of hearing aids for all budgets, lifestyles, and hearing loss needs. Contact us for more info and to learn how Hearing Aids Keep You Happy, Healthy, and Wealthy. Take the next step in your hearing health, it’s easy.