Everyone loves the concept of a miracle cure that helps you live longer. 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. Pretty much all of these so-called cures have no medical foundation and are not backed by the healthcare community.
But there are some legitimate things you can do to help you achieve a longer lifespan. For instance, eating a healthy diet (particularly one low in sodium and saturated fats) or quitting smoking can significantly affect your expected lifespan.
The same is true of treating hearing loss by wearing hearing aids. And a multidisciplinary journal that centers around healthy aging, called The Lancet Healthy Longevity, has recently released research that underlines this. So, will wearing hearing aids to treat hearing loss help enhance longevity? There’s a strong likelihood that it will according to this research.
Does hearing loss pose a threat to your health?
The connection between your hearing health and your general wellness isn’t particularly new to researchers. For instance, it has been well established that neglected hearing loss can considerably increase your risk of cognitive decline later in life.
Many individuals, however, are unaware of these risks. They consider hearing loss to be an isolated inconvenience, something that only affects one very particular part of their life. But when left untreated, hearing loss can pose bigger health concerns than a simple inconvenience.
Is there a link between hearing aids and longevity?
Usually, using hearing aids as much as possible will be the primary way to manage hearing loss. from this perspective, do hearing aids decrease the risk of early death? There is a definite possibility, according to this recent research, that hearing aids can reduce your risk of early death. There is a 24% reduction in mortality risk for people with hearing loss who regularly use hearing aids, as reported by this study. The participants in this study, in other words, who used their hearing aids, tended to live longer.
Hearing aid advantages
The study published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity isn’t exactly definitive proof that hearing aids will help you have a longer life (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.
- You might also be more conscious of your surroundings. This can help prevent accidents, injuries, and mishaps.
- It will be easier to function in social engagements. This can minimize the degree of social solitude you feel, improving your overall mental health.
- 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.
- Using your hearing aids can help improve cognition. Over time, your brain will be healthier and less tired from struggling to hear.
These are improvements to your quality of life that you’ll feel every time you use your hearing aids. These are all practical reasons to use hearing aids to manage your hearing loss.
Your total health and well-being depend heavily on healthy hearing
The more we discover about the relationships between hearing loss and the rest of your body, the more scientists have come to recognize that your hearing is an exceptionally important part of your overall health and wellness. If you have hearing loss, getting diagnosed and wearing hearing aids can substantially diminish your early mortality risks.
Seeing a hearing specialist can help you identify whether you have hearing loss and the best way to manage it.