Several studies have proven that hearing loss can have an influence on your brain. (Just have a look at some of our recent blog posts.) Fortunately, it’s also been confirmed that you can regain some of that cognitive ability by using hearing aids.
We’re not claiming that you will become smarter just by using hearing aids. But there’s some compelling research that suggests hearing aids can improve cognitive abilities, lowering your risk for anxiety, depression, and dementia.
You Accomplish a Lot of Hearing With Your Brain
To understand the link between your ears and cognition, it’s important to know that a considerable percentage of your hearing actually takes place in your brain. It’s the brain’s job to convert sound vibrations into recognizable sound information. So as your hearing diminishes, the parts of your brain that translate those sounds suddenly have much less to do.
In combination with other variables (such as social isolation), the alterations in your brain (and hearing) can result in the onset of specific mental health problems. In persons with untreated hearing loss, it’s not uncommon to observe an increase in the risks for depression, anxiety, and dementia.
Your essentially “treating” your hearing loss when you’re wearing hearing aids. That means:
- The regions of your brain responsible for hearing will get regular workouts; the more your brain performs work, the healthier your brain stays.
- You can stop your hearing from becoming worse by using hearing aids together with regular monitoring.
- You’ll be less likely to isolate yourself socially. Interactions will be easier to understand and follow, so you’ll be more inclined to participate.
Staying Attentive
Hearing aids stimulate your brain and your social life and can lessen depression, anxiety, and dementia.
- Raising awareness: At times, you fall because you’re not aware of your environment. Decreased hearing ability can significantly lessen your situational awareness. Identifying what direction sound is coming from can be as challenging as hearing sound in general. A fall or other injury can be the consequence.
- The health of your inner ear: Inner ear injury is not brought on by loss of hearing alone. But there is frequently a common cause for both hearing loss and inner ear damage. So treating the one can help you treat the other, and in some cases, a hearing aid is a component of that treatment routine.
- Cutting edge technology: Some current hearing aids, when a person has a fall, can automatically notify emergency services. This might not prevent the fall to begin with, but it can lessen long-lasting injuries or complications due to the fall.
In truth, you’re more likely to avoid a fall when you’re using hearing aids. A hearing aid enhances your physical health and your cognitive capacity while carrying out the essential functions of helping you stay more aware, more alert, and more connected.
Start Wearing Your Hearing Aid
We haven’t even mentioned the fact that a hearing aid can also help you hear. So it seems like when you consider all of the benefits linked to using hearing aids, it’s a no brainer. (Pretty obvious).
The problem is that many people don’t know they have hearing loss. It can be hard to identify loss of hearing when it happens gradually over time. That’s the reason why having a routine hearing test is important. Without hearing aids, loss of hearing can exacerbate a wide variety of other health concerns.
The right hearing aid can, in part, slow the onset of depression and dementia, while lessening the occurrences of certain physical injuries. That’s a stunning mix of benefits that hearing aids offer, and they also help you hear.