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If you feel that your hearing may be compromised, you may have some barriers to getting a hearing test. Some of us are worried that the testing process will be uncomfortable or time consuming, while others don’t want to admit that hearing may be compromised. Others of us simply don’t want to wear hearing aids at all. It is important to focus on the many benefits of treating hearing loss when considering a hearing test and the need to devise a plan toward healthy hearing. The following are just a few of the benefits of treatment, and focusing on the positive can help overcome mental barriers.
Social Benefits
One of the most powerful benefits of treating hearing loss is the ability to engage socially with more freedom and comfort. Think back to the last time you tried to have a conversation at a loud party or restaurant. If you experience hearing loss, this event may have been difficult to navigate. Putting together the pieces of a conversation can be difficult, and anxiety can come from the need to respond to others when we don’t fully hear what they have to say. With hearing treatment, we can engage freely and comfortably once again, rebuilding relationships with our families and loved ones that may have suffered from a lack of communication. Many experience social anxiety due to the inability to hear what others have to say and feeling afraid of saying the wrong thing in response or even agreeing to things that we don’t mean to. The good news is that you don’t have to go on with these stressful social settings. Hearing treatment is available to make conversation easy once again.
Emotional Benefits
Closely related to these social benefits are the emotional benefits of comfort and ease. Many with hearing loss experience anxiety, as described above. And yet, the emotional effects of hearing loss may not stop there. Due to stressful social interactions, some people tend to isolate themselves, and this social isolation can lead to depression or other negative emotional conditions. Others experience anger and frustration at the reality that hearing is compromised, wishing that they could turn back the clock on their abilities. Beyond anxiety, depression, and anger, some go as far as experiencing low self-esteem in the face of hearing limitations. With hearing treatment, you may be quite surprised at the improvements to mood and the entire emotional landscape. Why live with such negative feelings, when treatment is available?
Mental Benefits
Beyond these social and emotional benefits, cognition may even be improved in concert with hearing treatment. When hearing is limited, the mind only captures fragments of sound and has to scramble to complete a meaningful thought from what is heard. Just imagine the difficulty of putting together a jigsaw puzzle without all of the pieces. Although this struggle is easy to understand, the cognitive load may be increased so much that cognition is affected even beyond hearing contexts. A link has been discovered between hearing loss and dementia, and more research is necessary to figure out how this connection works. One of the mental benefits of treating hearing loss is to reduce cognitive stressors more generally, clearing up the mind for complex thought.
Activity Benefits
One of the most practical benefits of treating hearing loss is to make work and leisure activities easier. When you have to struggle to hear, attention to activities is limited, and your performance may suffer. In the workplace, this problem can translate to an inability to follow instructions or complete tasks as expected. In leisure, hearing loss can limit the ability to fully enjoy activities, and in some instances leisure activities may be unsafe, as well. Treating hearing loss has the benefit of freeing the individual to participate in a wide range of activities with ease and safety.
Visit Us at Encore Hearing
As you can see, there are many benefits to treating hearing loss. The first step is to have your hearing tested, and a consultation with us at Encore Hearing will take you along the road to treatment. Hearing aids may be necessary, or you may find that other treatment options are available. Don’t hesitate to go down the road of hearing treatment in order to reap these many benefits!