If you’ve been following our blog over the past year, you might recall several articles discussing issues like cognitive decline, balance disorders, isolation and loneliness, and other negative health consequences related to hearing loss.

While those studies alone should provide the motivation to make regular hearing tests a common part of a preventative health regimen, like eye tests, dental checkups, and annual physicals, we have come across a study that shows that the use of hearing aids could help you live longer.

According to Dr. Janet Choi from the University of Southern California, patients who used hearing aids regularly had a 24 percent lower risk of mortality compared to a group that didn’t use hearing aids at all.

In response to Dr. Choi’s findings, we hope that individuals throughout South Louisiana will make hearing care a priority for better overall health.

How Do Hearing Aids Lower Your Mortality Risk?

While hearing aids are not the only solution to living a longer life, the study demonstrates how individuals with hearing loss who wear their hearing aids daily have a lower risk of mortality.

In her findings, Dr. Choi discovered that only 12 percent of her participants actually wore their hearing aids daily outside of the study.

Because it comes on at a slow pace and is an invisible condition, most people with hearing loss don’t realize that they are struggling until the condition deteriorates significantly. Many who recognize their hearing challenges neglect wearing their hearing aids regularly and never adapt to daily use.

The hesitancy to regular hearing aid use is because of the stigmas attached to wearing them.

However, hearing aids are not like those bulky, frustrating devices of the past; today they are lighter, smaller, and far more powerful thanks to micro-digital technology.

Hearing care professionals can help people like you live longer by providing a greater level of encouragement for hearing aid users to make daily wearing a normal part of their lives.

How Does Professional Hearing Care Help?

It’s not the technology that makes the difference on your journey to better hearing. Professional hearing care is about addressing your needs with a device that fits your unique hearing challenges while fitting in with your lifestyle.

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, hearing loss affects almost 38 million Americans, but only one in four have invested in professional hearing care, which can significantly impact your quality of life, as well as how long you live, if taken seriously.

At SLENT Hearing and Balance Center, we don’t just put a pair of hearing aids in your ears and push you out the door. Our focus is on ensuring that you get the most out of your hearing instruments by providing proper programming, monitoring, and maintenance as well as counseling and encouragement to help you become comfortable with their use.

With our ongoing care, prescription-level hearing aids can help you communicate better, decrease your risk of cognitive decline, lower your risk of balance-related falls, and limit the impact of other negative mental and physical health conditions that can affect your mortality.

Our professional hearing care begins with a comprehensive hearing assessment able to identify all of the possible causes for your hearing loss challenges, like family history, genetics, infection, noise-related accidents, and even earwax buildup.

With the information we gather during testing, we are able to develop treatment solutions that target your specific hearing challenges while taking into consideration your lifestyle and personal preferences.

By fitting your treatment solution to your unique circumstances, we help ensure that you will continue to enjoy the benefits your hearing aids provide, including longer life.

Would You Like to Hear Better and Live Better?

Professional hearing care and properly programmed and maintained hearing aids can prevent many negative health consequences and even extend your life. Doesn’t it make sense to take a deeper look into whether hearing aids would be a worthy investment?

Our team of professionals is eager to do our part to help you get the most out of life for as long as you live. Take the first step to better hearing and better living by scheduling a comprehensive hearing assessment with SLENT Hearing and Balance Center today.

Contact us online or give us a call at (985) 590-5759.

Tags: benefits of hearing aids, hearing loss & cognitive decline, untreated hearing loss