Everyone loves the concept of a miracle cure that helps you live longer. As a matter of fact, a quick internet search will probably return thousands of such miracle remedies (if not more), each promising to help you live longer if you employ one simple trick. The healthcare community doesn’t back the vast majority of these supposed cures as they have no real medical basis.
However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything to positively impact your lifespan. For instance, eating a healthy diet (especially one low in sodium and saturated fats) or quitting smoking can substantially affect your expected lifespan.
Making use of hearing aids to treat hearing loss is also in this group. And a multidisciplinary publication that focuses on healthy aging, called The Lancet Healthy Longevity, has recently released research that underlines this. So, can hearing aids help you live longer? There’s a strong possibility that it will according to this research.
Is hearing loss a health threat?
The connection between your hearing health and your overall wellness is not particularly new to researchers. The fact that neglected hearing loss can substantially increase your risk of developing cognitive decline is well established, for instance.
Many people, however, are unaware of these risks. They think that hearing loss will only influence one aspect of their lives and is a mere nuisance. But the reality is that hearing loss is more than a simple nuisance, especially when neglected.
The link between longevity and hearing loss
Typically, using hearing aids as much as possible will be the main way to manage hearing loss. from this perspective, do hearing aids reduce the risk of early death? According to this most recent research, possibly. The study found that regular hearing aid use was linked to a 24% decrease in mortality risk. The participants in this study, in other words, who wore their hearing aids, tended to live longer.
Hearing aid benefits
The research published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity isn’t necessarily definitive proof that hearing aids will help you live longer (although the study does strongly suggest a relationship). But we already have a large body of evidence about the many advantages of using hearing aids and this just adds to that body.
- Hearing aids can help you enjoy day-to-day moments with friends and family, from going out to lunch with colleagues to asking your grandchildren about their school day.
- Cognition can be improved by wearing hearing aids. Over time, your brain will be healthier and less tired from struggling to hear.
- You can prevent accidents and injuries by being more conscious of your environment.
- Social situations can become significantly easier. This can limit the degree of social solitude you feel, increasing your overall mental wellness.
Whenever you use your hearing aids, you will experience these improvements to your life. For these reasons alone, hearing aids are an essential part of treating your hearing loss.
Hearing is an important part of your health and wellness
Scientists have recognized that the health of your hearing plays a major role in your total wellness. If you have hearing loss, getting diagnosed and using hearing aids can substantially decrease your early mortality risks.
Seeing a hearing specialist can help you determine whether you have hearing loss and the best way to manage it.