That hearing loss can impact your brain has been confirmed in numerous studies. (Some of our previous blogs clearly show that.) The good news is, it’s also been proven that you can recover some of that cognitive ability through hearing aids.
We’re not claiming that you will get smarter just by wearing hearing aids. But there’s some compelling research that suggests cognitive ability can be increased by using hearing aids lowering your risk for anxiety, depression, and dementia.
Your Brain is Responsible For a Significant Amount of Your Hearing
It’s important to recognize how large a part your brain plays in hearing if you are going to understand the link between cognition and your ears. That’s where the vibrations of the world are transformed into the sounds of your environment. So as your hearing diminishes, the regions of your brain that decipher those sounds suddenly have much less to do.
Changes in your brain (and hearing), along with other considerations (like social isolation), can lead to the beginning of mental health issues. In persons with untreated hearing loss, it’s not unusual to notice an increase in the chances for anxiety, depression, and dementia.
When you wear hearing aids, you’re essentially “treating” your hearing loss. That means:
- You won’t be as likely to isolate yourself socially. Interactions will be easier to understand and follow, so you’ll be more likely to engage.
- You can keep your hearing from becoming worse by using hearing aids along with regular screening.
- Your brain will stay healthier if it keeps doing work; your brain will be getting a more regular workout in the parts responsible for hearing.
Staying Attentive
Hearing aids enhance your brain and your social life and can lessen depression, anxiety, and dementia.
- Inner ear health: Loss of hearing in and of itself will not trigger inner ear damage. But there is typically a common cause for both loss of hearing and inner ear damage. So treating the one can help you treat the other, and in some instances, a hearing aid is a component of that treatment regimen.
- Raising awareness: At times, you fall because you aren’t aware of your environment. Decreased ability to hear can significantly lessen your situational awareness. Determining which direction sound is coming from can be as difficult as hearing sound in general. Without treatment, this can wind up causing injury or a fall.
- Cutting edge technology: Some current hearing aids, when someone falls, can immediately notify emergency services. This can prevent long lasting complications and injuries although it won’t prevent the fall itself.
Actually, you have a higher chance of avoiding a fall when you’re using hearing aids. A hearing aid boosts your physical health and your cognitive ability while performing the important tasks of helping you stay more mindful, more focused, 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 as if when you consider all of the benefits related to wearing hearing aids, it’s a no brainer. (Pretty obvious).
The problem is that many people don’t know they have hearing loss. When your hearing disappears slowly, you might have a hard time recognizing it. That’s the reason why it’s crucial to get your hearing tested on a regular basis. A wide variety of other health issues can be made worse by loss of hearing.
The correct hearing aid can, in part, slow the onset of despair and dementia, while reducing the occasions of some physical injuries. That’s a striking combination of advantages that hearing aids offer, and they also help your hearing.
