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- Tinnitus masking
- Bluetooth streaming
- Reduced depression/increased stamina
- More enjoyment out of life
- Reduced risk of dementia
If you’re considering hearing aids (or upgrading your existing hearing aids) then you might be interested to know that there are other benefits than maximised hearing.
Modern hearing aids offer listening comfort in a compact size but there are some other great additional benefits that you should be talking to your audiologist about.
These benefits impact on your health and wellbeing in many different ways.
But why?
It’s all because hearing doesn’t just happen in your ears, it also happens in your brain.
Your ability to hear and process sound has profound implications for your emotional and psychological well-being
So let’s look at these five benefits.
Tinnitus masking
Hearing aids cannot cure tinnitus but it can certainly make life a lot easier.
Hearing aids can be used to reduce the loudness of the head noise. They can give you a sense of control over the noises in your head. Using a masking function help you drown out the annoying noise when you choose.
Even if you don't have hearing loss, hearing aids are a discreet way to wear a tinnitus masker all day.
Tinnitus is also associated with Meniere’s disease and we have a helpful article on the condition here.
Bluetooth streaming
A Bluetooth hearing aid can make it possible to conveniently listen to your favourite music in private, while going along with your day to day business. No one needs to know that you are silently rocking out to your favourite tunes or absorbing your favourite podcast. This is especially helpful if you suffer tinnitus, as silence and tinnitus do not mix well.
Bluetooth hearing aids can allow you to take mobile phone calls through your hearing aids. This can be a tremendous help if hearing people on the phone, where lip reading is out of the question, is even a slight problem for you. Some models even allow Hands Free calling!
Bluetooth hearing aids also allow you to connect to hearing aid apps. Some of these apps are quite advanced and allow remote control of the hearing aids. Others even allow Artificial Intelligence features to help improve your hearing.
Some Bluetooth hearing aids even allow remote fine tuning, reducing the need for in clinic visits just to have a quick tweak applied.
Most Bluetooth hearing aids have an optional accessory, allowing you to stream the TV signal in beautiful stereo directly into your hearing aids. They still keep the hearing aid microphones active, so you can hear those people close to you, but you have your own control over the TV volume at a level of clarity that has to be experienced.
Have have a couple of interesting articles here on Bluetooth hearing aid security and electromagnetic radiation.
Reduced depression/increased stamina
Brain power is exhausting. And when your hearing is not optimised, your brain is working harder than it needs to try to make sense of the sounds your ears are hearing. We have four practical tips on how to manage fatigue if you having hearing loss and use hearing aids.
Taking care of your health has many flow on effects for your hearing. Did you know that osteoporosis can affect your hearing? We outline the reasons here and what you can do about it.
More enjoyment out of life
Increased quality of life was reported by people who wore hearing aids.
One of the broadest categories of measurement is Quality of Life.
It is a subjective measure, as the results are based on on how individuals perceive improvement, but it is instructive to note that the family of study participants also noticed improvements in their loved one’s quality of life.
Research conducted by the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology at the University of Arkansas discovered half the study’s participants reported improvements in their quality of life within just six weeks of wearing hearing aids for the first time.
Better hearing reduces feelings of frustration and social isolation which play large factor in personal well-being.
Reduced risk of dementia
The link between hearing loss and dementia has been well established, but there are things you can do to help reduce cognitive decline.
Dementia and cognitive decline have long been seen as part and parcel of aging. It’s been perceived as unavoidable - like getting wrinkles and going grey.
But as researchers discover more about the brain and how it works, there is an increasing body of evidence which suggests that this doesn’t have to be the case.
Exciting news in science shows that improved hearing is positively associated with a reduction in cognitive decline and dementia.
