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4 Reasons Why More People Are Wearing Hearing Aids

Every day over 10,000 Americans get new hearing aids and that number is growing. Here are the top 4 reasons why.

1. Hearing aid technology has improved significantly

Similar to smartphones, hearing aid technology is advancing so fast it’s hard to keep up. Smaller, faster processors combined with sophisticated algorithms have improved the effectiveness of hearing aids to create a natural, effortless listening experience. Some hearing aids have been clinically proven to deliver better than normal hearing in certain situations.

With Bluetooth connectivity, you can easily stream music, podcasts or phone calls directly to your hearing aids. Many are also rechargeable and include on-the-go chargers similar to Apple’s AirPod case, so there’s no more fumbling around with tiny batteries.

To further prove the point, hearing aids have recently won notable awards at some of the biggest tech & design events…

  • Phonak’s Virto Black won Engadget’s Best of CES
  • Starkey’s Livio made Time Inc’s List of the Best Inventions
  • Signia’s Styletto won a Red Dot Design Award
  • Oticon’s Xceed won a CES Innovation Award

2. People are getting hearing aids earlier

Contrary to popular belief, the National Institutes of Health reports that hearing loss begins by age 39 in 49% of people and 81% by the age of 59. We live in a noisy world that exposes our ears to heavy traffic, loud restaurants, rock concerts, and sporting events. In addition, listening to music with headphones and earbuds are proven to further harm our hearing. With advanced hearing technology and smartphone connectivity, Gen-Xers see the benefits of hearing aids and are acting much quicker than older generations. Many of them already wear Bluetooth devices in their ears, so wearing a hearing aid is no big deal.

3. Hearing aids improve work performance

Since 2009, EuroTrak has surveyed over 175,000 people with hearing loss and hearing aids. Not surprisingly, 91% report improvement at work, but it’s impressive to see wearers reporting $44,000 of higher earnings throughout their remaining working years! Good communication is critical to career success and medical-grade hearing aids are programmed to improve speech understanding. They make it easier to understand what someone is saying, so your brain can put more energy towards critical thinking, communication, creativity, and collaboration.

4. Research shows untreated hearing loss hurts our health

Our bodies, brains, and overall health are more connected than many of us think. Here is just one example of how hearing loss affects more than our ability to understand.

Doctors at Johns Hopkins Medicine have conducted multiple studies linking hearing loss with increased risks for depression, social isolation, cognitive decline, dementia and even falling. They’ve also proven that treating hearing loss with hearing aids can reduce these risks.

Dr. Frank Lin discusses how 1 in 5 Americans have hearing loss, and how it can impact your everyday life.

Experience the difference yourself

You can read study after study and the findings will always be the same: hearing aids help people live better and healthier lives. But the only way to experience the benefits of these findings is to try them for yourself. This is why hear.com offers a 45-day trial of the best hearing aids from the leading manufacturers. If you haven’t scheduled your appointment yet, make sure to click the button below.

Dr. Emily Smith

Dr. Emily Smith is a lead audiologist at hear.com, a global leader in hearing care and the largest online retailer of medical-grade hearing aids. Dr. Smith graduated from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and has performed hundreds of Teleaudiology appointments to help people find greater access to hearing healthcare. Outside of audiology, Dr. Smith enjoys spending time hiking, skiing, and traveling with her friends and family, and has two dogs, Baxter and Piper.

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