Hearing Aids Keep You Happy, Healthy, and Wealthy

For those who acquire hearing loss later in life (and most who acquire it younger), there are a lot of good reasons to start wearing hearing aids. In fact, it can sometimes be hard to demonstrate just how critically important hearing loss treatment is!

You see, when it comes to leaving hearing loss untreated, it’s not just that a few negative outcomes might occur after a while. It’s more that a whole new kind of system arises—one that promotes negative outcomes. Thanks to “big data,” it is possible to quantify the risks involved for outcomes like cognitive decline and dementia, physical inactivity, social isolation, and depression. But quantifying the likelihood of these outcomes can be misleading. The real benefit of treating hearing loss is living a good life, which ultimately helps you stay happier, healthier, and wealthier!

The Economics of Hearing Loss

Hearing aids are a significant expense, but one that is definitely worth it! Those with untreated hearing loss tend to earn less than those with hearing aids, and that’s not counting the potential medical bills that complications of untreated hearing loss can rack up.

Earnings potential appears to decrease with the severity of hearing loss, and those of working age with hearing loss are employed at a rate of 83% compared to the general population. A study conducted by Professor Emerita Bridget Shield at Brunel University in London, called “Hearing Loss – Numbers and Costs,” found that those with untreated hearing loss earn significantly less, on average, than those with normal hearing or hearing aids.

And hearing loss doesn’t just affect the financial outlook for the individual who has it, but comes at a cost for society at large. Those of working age with untreated hearing loss represent lost productivity to the economy, as well as an added burden on social programs like unemployment insurance, pensions, and increased healthcare costs. Healthcare costs are increased because of health concerns that untreated hearing loss engenders, such as depression, cognitive decline, increased risk of accidental injury. Untreated hearing loss also tends to promote a decrease in physical activity, which lowers overall health and significantly increases the likelihood of health issues like cardiovascular disease and dementia.

A “Quality of Life” Issue

The effects of untreated hearing loss accumulate slowly, over time. For that reason, it can be hard to recognize that hearing loss is actually the underlying issue responsible for a general decrease in quality of life.

Hearing loss tends to cause frustration between spouses and family members, which increases the stress generated in daily interactions. It can make us feel lonely, even while we are surrounded by other people. It makes it harder to navigate the world and interact with strangers, hence the decrease in physical activity. Essentially, untreated hearing loss makes it more stressful and difficult to live our lives, which forces us to change the way we live our lives. This may happen over a period of years.

Hearing Aids Can Help

That’s what treating hearing loss is really about: continuing to live life the way we want to. With a good set of hearing aids, speech intelligibility can be close to—or in some cases better than—normal hearing. That helps you to feel free to make choices about where you want to go and how you want to interact with others. You can feel as competent and confident as ever!

In fact, those who get hearing aids tend to report a greater sense of optimism, confidence, and self-reliance than those with untreated hearing loss. It makes sense, doesn’t it? When you can hear the world around you, you can make decisions based on your true desires, rather than imagining yourself as less capable than other people. You can rely on your ability to hear what you need to hear to carry on a meaningful conversation, ask directions, and avoid danger.

Those who get hearing aids also overwhelmingly report improvements in their relationships with partners, friends and family members. Hearing aids help us to communicate more freely and accurately, and that helps us to maintain a greater sense of intimacy with the people in our lives.

If you or a loved one may be in need of hearing aids, make an appointment for a hearing test today and find out how treating hearing loss can help you stay happy, healthy and wealthy!