Live Better with a Hearing Aid

People are living longer, and many of us can now expect to live active lives into our 70s, 80s, and even 90s. But with longer life comes the increased probability that parts of our bodies suffer from wear and tear, and of course our ears are no exception. Studies show that around 40% of those aged 75 or above suffer from hearing loss. Unfortunately, those same statistics show the four out of every five people fail to seek help with the problem.

If you suspect your hearing health is impaired, schedule an appointment with an audiologist. Identifying the problem and developing a plan to correct it is an important way of protecting your social life and personal connections with friends and family.

For the four out of five who don’t do this, they can expect hearing loss to drag down their enjoyment of life. As Helen Keller once said, “Blindness robs you of things, but deafness robs you of people.” When you are struggling to hear, it’s difficult to stay connected to friends and family.

Those people who don’t use a hearing aid can be forced to cope in a number of ways. A common reaction is to try and bluff your way through a conversation by second guessing what the speaker just said and nodding or laughing in what you hope are the right places. However, this is a difficult game to play, which can backfire and make it painfully obvious that you having hearing difficulties.

If you experience the embarrassment of misunderstanding often enough, it could lead to you avoiding putting yourself in that position by declining invitations and opting out of get-togethers. The unfortunate upshot of this is that it leads to isolation and eventually feelings of low self-esteem and loneliness.

If that isn’t bad enough, you brain has to work hard to interpret the sounds it does hear, and this can leave you distracted and more vulnerable to falls or injury. Furthermore, if you end up in the hospital, statistics show you are liable to stay longer if you are hard of hearing.

So what can you do? Simple! Get a hearing test and then act on the audiologist’s advice.

There are many excellent hearing aids available to suit every individual need. If your priority is discretion, there are in-the-canal devices which are all but invisible. If you want to listen better at concerts or the theater, there are hearing aids enabled with technology to take advantage of systems in those venues. Perhaps you love to travel but find the distracting noise at airports difficult to deal with.  Many modern hearing aids are equipped with noise cancelling or reduction abilities, which let speech come through loud and clear.

Be aware the worst thing you can do is deny there is a problem. Instead, speak to your audiologist and find out about the positive steps you can take to support your ability to hear.