Everyone loves the concept of a miracle cure that helps increase your lifespan. That’s why you can find a huge number of these miracle cures all over the internet promising longevity if you do this one trick. The vast majority of these alleged cures have no medical basis and are not backed by the healthcare community.
However, that doesn’t mean that nothing you do can positively impact your longevity. For example, eating a healthy diet (especially one low in sodium and saturated fats) or quitting smoking can significantly affect your expected lifespan.
Making use of hearing aids to manage hearing loss is also in this category. That’s in line with a recent study published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, a multidisciplinary journal devoted to healthy aging. So, will using hearing aids to treat hearing loss help increase longevity? There’s a strong possibility that it will according to this research.
Is hearing loss a health threat?
Researchers have been aware of the relationship between general wellness and hearing health for quite some time. For instance, it has been well demonstrated that untreated hearing loss can significantly increase your risk of dementia later in life.
Many people, however, are unaware of these risks. They consider hearing loss to be an isolated inconvenience, something that only influences one very specific aspect of their life. But when left untreated, hearing loss can pose greater health concerns than a simple inconvenience.
The link between longevity and hearing loss
In most cases, treatment for hearing loss means using hearing aids as often as possible. So does this mean that you can reduce your risk of early death by wearing hearing aids? There is certainly a possibility, according to this recent study, that hearing aids can reduce your risk of early death. The study revealed that regular hearing aid use was linked to a 24% decrease in mortality risk. In other words, the individuals who participated in the study who wore hearing aids tended to live longer.
The benefits of hearing aids
The research published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity is not necessarily definitive proof that hearing aids will help you have a longer life (although the study does strongly indicate a relationship). However, it’s another piece of information to add onto what we already understand about the benefits of hearing aids.
- It will be easier to function in social situations. This can reduce the degree of social separation you feel, increasing your overall mental wellness.
- You can prevent accidents and injuries by being more mindful of your environment.
- Using your hearing aids can help improve cognition. This means that you (and your brain) will likely be less tired and healthier over time.
- Hearing aids can help you enjoy day-to-day moments with friends and family, from going out to eat with colleagues to asking your grandchildren about their school day.
Whenever you use your hearing aids, you will experience these improvements to your life. These are all practical reasons to use hearing aids to treat your hearing loss.
Your total health and well-being depend heavily on healthy hearing
Scientists have established that the health of your hearing plays a major role in your total wellness. Your risk of early mortality can be decreased by treating any hearing loss you may have with hearing aids.
Seeing a hearing specialist can help you determine whether you have hearing loss and the best way to treat it.