Everyone loves the idea of a miracle cure that helps you live longer. As a matter of fact, a quick internet search will likely return thousands of such miracle remedies (if not more), each promising to help you live longer thanks to one simple trick. The healthcare community doesn’t back most of these supposed cures as they have no real medical basis.
However, that doesn’t mean that nothing you do can positively impact your longevity. For instance, eating a healthy diet (particularly one low in sodium and saturated fats) or quitting smoking can dramatically affect your expected lifespan.
The same is true of treating hearing loss by using hearing aids. That’s according to a recent study published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, a multidisciplinary publication dedicated to healthy aging. So, will wearing hearing aids to treat hearing loss help improve longevity? According to this study, it’s a distinct possibility.
Does hearing loss pose a threat to your health?
The link between your hearing health and your overall wellness isn’t particularly new to researchers. The fact that untreated hearing loss can considerably increase your risk of experiencing dementia is well founded, for instance.
Many individuals, however, are not aware of these risks. They consider hearing loss to be an isolated hassle, something that only affects one very specific part of their life. But the truth is that hearing loss is more than a simple annoyance, especially when neglected.
The connection between longevity and hearing loss
Typically, using hearing aids as much as possible will be the primary way to treat hearing loss. In this context, do hearing aids reduce the risk of early death? There is a definite possibility, according to this latest research, that hearing aids can reduce your risk of early death. There is a 24% decrease in mortality risk for people with hearing loss who regularly use hearing aids, as reported by this study. In other words, the individuals observed in the study who used hearing aids had a tendency to live longer.
The advantages of hearing aids
Though The Lancet Healthy Longevity study strongly suggests a connection between hearing health and longevity, it doesn’t definitely prove that using hearing aids will help you live longer. But we already have a large body of evidence about the many benefits of using hearing aids and this just adds to that body.
- Cognition can be improved by wearing hearing aids. This means that you (and your brain) will likely be less fatigued and healthier over time.
- Hearing aids can help you enjoy everyday moments with friends and family, from going out to lunch with colleagues to asking your grandchildren about their school day.
- It will be easier to function in social engagements. This will help your overall well-being by reducing your feelings of social isolation.
- You can prevent accidents and injuries by being more conscious of your environment.
These are improvements to your quality of life that you’ll feel every time you wear your hearing aids. These are all great reasons to use hearing aids to treat your hearing loss.
Hearing is an important part of your health and wellness
The more we discover about the relationships between hearing loss and the rest of your body, the more scientists have come to understand that your hearing is an exceedingly significant part of your total health and wellness. Your risk of early mortality can be reduced by treating any hearing loss you might have with hearing aids.
If you think that you might have some amount of hearing loss, it’s time to contact us for a consultation.
