Hearing aids are supposed to be used daily. But you’re also supposed to rinse out your milk containers before recycling them. We don’t always do what we’re supposed to. The same goes for hearing aids. Sometimes we forget to bring them with us. You may even forget to use it for more than one day.
That’s not great. Because there are a number of things that happen (or continue to happen) when you don’t wear your hearing aids. And the majority of them, honestly, aren’t very good.
Consequences of Neglecting to Use Your Hearing Aids
There will be consequences of varying levels of intensity and severity, both to your health and social life, if you don’t wear your hearing aid. The effects and repercussions of failing to use your hearing aids could include the following.
Your Hearing Will Keep Diminishing
Hearing aids are impressive devices. They enhance your ability to hear and help keep your auditory complex (the region of the brain that interprets sound) working efficiently.
You might damage your hearing even more if, instead of using your hearing aids, you start turning up the volume on your devices even louder than they already are. Even if you’re keeping the volumes under control, issues with your brain can result from the lack of sensory stimuli. (It actually shrinks.) So if you don’t wear your hearing aids, your hearing will most likely keep getting worse (so you’ll need even more powerful hearing aids before long).
Social Interactions Will Become More Stressful (And Less Consistent)
You know when you go to the store and you get into a short discussion with the cashier? They’re pleasant, we think. In a world of technology, these little talks are a touch of humanity.
When you don’t use your hearing aids, these simple social interactions can quickly become a lot more difficult. You frequently miss parts of the conversation and need to ask people to repeat what they said. Again and again. And that’s when the conversation becomes really awkward. Maybe that sounds trivial, but every bit you withdraw into yourself makes it that much easier for you to entirely isolate yourself socially. And that can cause even bigger issues.
Hearing Aids And Mental Decline
Your brain doesn’t get close to as much exercise when you seclude yourself. Think about how invigorated (or exhausted) you can feel after a good chat or an enjoyable evening meal with your family. Without that exercise, certain mental processes can start to decline (or decline faster). This could mean:
- Balance troubles
- Memory problems
- Depression
- Declines in productivity or energy
But that’s not the entire picture. Because hearing sound is vitally essential to certain regions of your brain and nervous system. Without stimulation, certain nerves will start to weaken, and your auditory complex starts to atrophy. This can cause an even more rapid mental decline (or, even in the best-case scenario, make adapting to your hearing aids even more challenging).
Hearing aids keep your brain engaged, stimulated, and happy (for the most part).
Losing The Ability to be Independent
Needing a bit more help, as you get older, is not abnormal. Perhaps you ask a family member to go to the store for you or a neighbor to do some yard work. If you aren’t using your hearing aid, you could be expediting the loss of independence that frequently comes with aging.
When you don’t use your hearing aids, it can quickly become harder to answer the phone or talk with your neighbor. It’s possible that you will miss important alerts. Perhaps you fail to hear your dog barking when there’s someone at the door or your cat meowing at 6 am when he’s hungry.
Is There Any Solution?
No matter how technologically advanced hearing aids get, they won’t resolve all of life’s issues. But they will solve a lot of the issues associated with not wearing your hearing aids.
If you’re having issues with your hearing aids or if they’re not comfortable, that’s one thing (and you should consult us about getting solutions to those particular problems).
It’s worth taking some time to think about what the repercussions will be if you avoid using your hearing aids and also what the advantages of wearing them might be.
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References
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/otolaryngology/specialty_areas/hearing/faq.html
https://www.webmd.com/brain/news/20140128/hearing-loss-tied-to-faster-brain-shrinkage-with-age
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/05/ce-corner-isolation