Admitting one not only has hearing loss but also needs hearing aids can be a big step in one’s life. There are often countless questions not just about features and benefits, but simpler (though no less fraught) questions ranging from how the aids will look in public to how they’ll be received by people in everyday life.
A couple weeks ago, The Better Hearing Institute released an article: 7 High-Tech Reasons You Should Finally Deal with Your Hearing Loss. They run down a whole slew of reasons. Not only do hearing aids “cut out background noise so you hear what you want to hear,” but they also “capture the natural richness and variation of speech, so it’s easier to follow the conversation around you.” On the side of appearance, hearing aids are often “sleek and virtually invisible,” BHI writes.
The health benefits are apparent, as better hearing leads to better listening which helps reduce the psychological stress of straining to hear. Brain function is also improved. We wrote about this before, and Unitron agrees: “The longer you wait, the harder it is for your brain to get used to hearing aids and to re-learn certain sounds. The sooner you start using hearing aids, the better chance you will give your brain to adapt and re-learn sounds you may not have been hearing for a while.”
How the hearing aids themselves look, many might not call a benefit. Maybe they’re afraid of discrimination, or being treated differently by an employer. On that end, we would say that being able to hear and participate in a conversation, being able to continue the crucial action of socializing and interacting with your family, friends, and public far outweighs any appearance concerns. And as BHI says, as many other vendors and hearing professionals say, hearing aids are getting smaller and smaller, more stylish and sleeker.
The hearing aid is a small device that no one needs to be afraid of. Don’t think of it as a detriment or a crutch, but a powerful and vital tool that can literally transform how you interact with people.