If you’re spending more time at home lately, you may wonder about the need for daily hearing aid use. It’s no secret those tiny pieces of technology improve social situations, but recognizing the importance of hearing and sticking to daily routines to strengthen relationships — even while social distancing — are key reasons to wear your hearing aids at home.
Read on to understand when to wear your hearing aids and how regular use can improve your overall quality of life.
Yes, you do. More time at home doesn’t mean less time wearing hearing aids or less opportunities to hear fully. Even if you’re apart from loved ones, the ability to hear everyday sounds at home — birds chirping outside, laundry cycles, water boiling — can help boost your mood, improve your well-being and maintain the sound quality you initially became accustomed to while getting used to hearing aids.
Just like regular exercise is essential to keep your body healthy and strong, hearing aids should be worn daily to “exercise” the ears. Hearing the sounds you love most — grandkids’ voices, rainfall and thunderstorms, music, TV shows or movies — keeps you engaged with your environment and can improve life moments, big and small. Hearing aids help you live more independently.
Additionally, it’s a good idea to wear hearing aids at home, even if you live alone, for safety’s sake. While certain smoke and carbon monoxide detectors feature alarms that can be seen and heard, it’s important to stay alert for any emergency situation (think: a pet’s distress call, severe weather or intruders).
Hearing better is just the beginning when it comes to the benefits of hearing aids. Hearing aids improve quality of life by connecting you to your favorite people and activities, especially while social distancing. You may be working remotely with more frequent video conference calls or enjoying virtual game nights with family or friends. You may even have more time to listen to new podcasts while gardening. Wearing your hearing aids daily ensures you don’t miss a beat.
The importance of hearing health and overall benefits of hearing aids may not be obvious. For instance, you may experience:
Plus, as socially distanced small group gatherings become part of your routine again, you’ll be more comfortable having worn your hearing aids at home regularly.
If you’re selective about when to wear hearing aids, you’re ultimately putting your long-term hearing health and cognitive brain function at risk. Choosing to treat hearing loss only some of the time may result in a phenomenon called auditory deprivation. If the brain doesn’t receive auditory information or stimulation, speech recognition can decline at a faster rate than if signals were being sent through a hearing aid. Simply put, right now is when to wear your hearing aids.
It’s true getting used to hearing aids takes some time, but the payoff and long-term benefits are worth the hearing aid frustration you may experience initially. Wearing two hearing aids is essential for your brain and your ability to converse in the long-run. And remember: Our hearing care specialists are available to help coach you through any discomfort and make a hearing aid adjustment, if needed.
