Around 28.8 million adults in the U.S. could benefit from hearing aids. Yet, fewer than one in three of these adults over age 70 use them. Even fewer of these adults between age 20 and 69 — 16 percent — take advantage of hearing aid technology. Hearing loss and hearing aid myths may contribute to these low rates.
Here are five myths debunked to help you discover the truth about hearing aids and how you could benefit from them.
Many factors determine how much a person benefits from hearing aids. Your lifestyle, need for improved hearing and listening needs all affect how much hearing aids could help you. Hearing loss also progresses over time, and early intervention affects how quickly it worsens. Without hearing aids, your brain doesn’t receive the stimulation it needs to “remember” sounds. Wearing hearing aids allows your brain to adjust to hearing sounds.
Some people think that hearing aids will worsen their hearing because their ears will depend on them. Hearing aids don’t make your hearing worse when they fit your ears properly. In fact, as we mentioned in the previous myth, they actually help your hearing. Properly fitted hearing aids stimulate your hearing to keep it at the same level for longer.
In some cases, a person doesn’t get hearing aids because they consider it a matter of convenience. They think that while hearing loss makes things less convenient, it doesn’t impact their health. However, hearing loss can impact your physical, psychological and social well-being. For example, hearing loss can affect balance, increasing your risk of a fall.
There is a common belief that wearing hearing aids will restore hearing to normal. In reality, hearing aids act as a tool for developing new communication skills. They help manage hearing loss by improving your ability to hear softer sounds, hear better in background noise and understand speech better. However, hearing aids don’t cure hearing loss altogether.
Since aging increases your risk of hearing loss, you might consider it to be just something to deal with as you get older. Like any other health condition, hearing loss can receive treatment that increases your quality of life. The benefits of hearing aids also increase your overall well-being, improving your health in other aspects of your life.
If you think you have hearing loss, our specialists at Beltone can help. We can perform a hearing check to see if you could benefit from using hearing aids. We welcome you to request an appointment today at your nearest Beltone location.