Having to go to the ER can be personally and financially costly. What if you could prevent ER trips and dramatically decrease your chances of anxiety, depression, and even dementia.
Emerging studies make the case that, for people with serious hearing loss, wearing their hearing aid could be the difference between staying involved and healthy and winding up spending many nights in the emergency room.
The Research
Participants between the ages of 65 and 85 participated in a University of Michigan study. Each had extreme hearing loss. But only 45% of the participants used their hearing aids on a regular basis.
This is on par with comparable studies which have found that only about 30% of individuals who have hearing aids actually use them.
12 fewer, of the 585 individuals who did use their hearing aid, had Er visits or unplanned hospitalizations.
This may not seem like a very big number. But statistically, this is significant.
And there’s more. They also found that one day fewer, on average, was spent in the hospital for those who used their hearing aids. They were more likely to keep regular appointments with their doctors, which likely reduced their time in ER.
How Can Emergency Care Visits be Decreased by Wearing Hearing Aids?
The first one is obvious. You wouldn’t be as likely to require emergency care if you were keeping up on your health.
Also, people who wear their hearing aids stay more socially involved. This can result in both a greater drive to show up for that doctor’s appointment and better access to services and help to get to appointments.
And driving is less dangerous when you can hear, so you will be more confident if you are bringing yourself to your appointment.
In addition, a U.S. study revealed that those with hearing loss who don’t use their hearing aid are two times as likely to be depressed. Depression can lead to a lack of self-care, which can lead to health concerns.
The third thing is, various studies have found that wearing your hearing aid can lessen the risk of falling and cognitive decline. The region of the brain that’s used for hearing will start to decline from lack of use as hearing declines. The rest of the brain is ultimately affected. As this occurs, people commonly experience dementia symptoms as well as the disorientation and lack of balance connected with falls.
Long hospital stays frequently accompany falls and falling is a major cause of senior death.
These are only a few of the reasons that hearing aids help decrease ER visits.
So Why is Wearing Hearing Aids Something That so Many People Neglect?
There’s really no good reason.
Some don’t use them because they think that hearing aids make them look older than they actually are. 25% of people over 65 and 50% of people over 75 have hearing loss and yet this notion of looking old with hearing aids persists. Hearing loss is not uncommon. It happens to lots of people. Plus, hearing loss is on the rise even among 20-year-olds because of earbuds and the increase in noise pollution.
Ironically, constantly asking people to repeat themselves often makes a person appear much older than they are.
Some people cite the price of hearing aids. However, hearing aids have become more affordable in just the last few years, and there are ways to finance them.
Some people don’t like the way hearing aids sound. This can typically be fixed by simply working with your hearing specialist to learn how to more successfully use your hearing aid in various settings. Hearing aids sometimes need multiple fittings before they are just right.
Make an appointment with your hearing specialist so we can help you feel more comfortable wearing your hearing aids.
