You’re supposed to wear your hearing aids every day. But before you recycle your milk jugs, you’re supposed to wash them out too. We don’t always do what we’re supposed to. It’s the same for hearing aids. Occasionally we forget to take them with us. You might even forget to wear it for more than a day.
That isn’t a really good idea. Because when you don’t wear your hearing aids a number of things occur and some things already developing get worse. And the majority of them, honestly, aren’t very good.
Consequences of Failing to Wear Your Hearing Aids
There will be repercussions of varying levels of intensity and severity, both to your health and social life, if you fail to wear your hearing aid. Here are a few of those effects and consequences.
Your Hearing Will Continue to Diminish
The technology of hearing aids is fairly remarkable. Not only do they allow you to hear sounds that you otherwise wouldn’t have, but they also keep your auditory complex working smoothly (that’s the part of your brain responsible for the interpretation of sounds).
If you “forget” to wear your hearing aids and, instead, crank up your TV to an even higher volume, you might be doing additional damage to your hearing. Even if you aren’t boosting the volume, the missing sensory input leads to problems with your brain. (It actually shrinks.) So you will most likely wind up needing more powerful hearing aids in the future if you fail to wear your current pair because your hearing will keep getting worse.
It Will Become More Difficult to Engage Socially
You know when you go to the store and you get into a short discussion with the cashier? Those conversations are nice. A nice little bit of humanity in a technology-driven world.
These day-to-day social connections suddenly become very hard when you don’t wear your hearing aids. You have to ask the cashier to repeat himself. Again and again. And once that happens, the conversation just quickly becomes strained. Maybe that sounds superficial, but every bit you withdraw into yourself makes it that much easier to completely seclude yourself socially. And the result can be even more serious.
Hearing Aids And Mental Decline
When you separate yourself socially, your brain gets a lot less exercise. After you have a pleasant conversation with your family, think about how invigorated (or exhausted) you can feel. Certain cognitive functions can begin to decline or decline faster without this exercise. This could mean:
- Depression
- Memory problems
- Declines in energy or productivity
- Balance troubles
But there’s more. 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 make it harder to adjust to your new hearing aids and in the worst case accelerate the cognitive decline.
Your brain stays happy, stimulated, and engaged when you use hearing aids.
Losing The Ability to be Independent
It’s not uncommon, as you get older, to need a little more help. Perhaps you hire a neighbor to mow your lawn or ask your son to swing by with groceries more often. You are likely to accelerate your loss of independence if you’re not using your hearing aids.
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 don’t hear your dog barking when there’s somebody at the door or your cat meowing in the morning when he’s hungry.
What’s The Solution?
No matter how technologically advanced hearing aids become, they won’t solve all of life’s problems. But they will solve many issues connected with not using your hearing aids.
You need to come see us for assistance if you’re having issues with your hearing aids or if they’re not comfortable.
But if you’re looking for reasons to refrain from wearing your hearing aids, if you’re just leaving them in the nightstand drawer, it’s worth taking a little time to reflect on what may be gained by wearing them… and what might happen if you don’t wear your hearing aids.
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