None of us are strangers to looking up a symptom online and then panicking about the associated articles and suspected ailments behind the symptom. When was the last time you looked up a symptom related to the common cold, and the internet told you that you had something far worse?
Before you panic about your hearing loss symptoms and the associated links to cognitive decline, balance disorders, and dementia, we’d like to offer some good news: a recent study has found that with the help of hearing aids, you can increase your lifespan.
This study, conducted by Dr. Janet Choi from Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, studied how regular use of hearing aids affected almost 10,000 participants who were shown to have hearing loss challenges.
Her findings show that patients who regularly used hearing aids had a 24 percent lower risk of mortality than the group who didn’t use hearing aids at all.
Hearing aids, when used properly and routinely, could save your life.
How Do Hearing Aids Increase My Life Expectancy?
Dr. Choi, a hearing aid wearer herself, emphasizes that hearing aids are not the one solution to living a longer life. Rather, it’s the routine wear and understanding that you work with your hearing aids to optimize your hearing that will allow you to reap the multiple benefits of better hearing health.
Hearing aids and professional hearing care have been proven to strengthen hearing, help balance, improve memory, and decrease the chances of dementia. However, Dr. Choi found that outside of her study, just 12 percent of her participants wore their hearing aids on a daily basis.
Hearing loss happens gradually over time passing. Many people who get hearing aids don’t adapt to wearing them every day like they should, so it doesn’t feel like the devices are delivering the help they should.
Wearing your hearing aids should be like wearing your glasses or contact lenses for your vision: something you don’t leave the house without so you know you’ll be performing at your best, whether you’re going to work, a live event, or even just hanging out with your loved ones.
Dr. Choi hopes her study will encourage more people to get their hearing tested.
“A lot of people are not using hearing aids because they don’t want to look older,” she said in an interview with CNN. “They don’t want to be associated with disability, but it doesn’t have to be that way.”
Concerned About Your Hearing?
If you’re reading this and want to start your hearing health journey, you’re in the right place.
Our team of professional hearing care experts will take care of your ears and help you see the multiple benefits of better hearing health.
For more information or to chat with a member of our team, please feel free to request a callback, and we’ll contact you as soon as we can.
Don’t want to wait? Call your nearest office for a more immediate conversation.
