Embrace Hearing Aids, Your Auditory Glasses

You may have seen this in your group chats or on social media. I love it! I think it should also read:

If you need hearing aids but avoided getting them because they are too troublesome, keep reading….

Obvious communication benefit

We all know that hearing devices help you communicate better because you can hear better. Did you know what this really means? This means that you will have a better relationship with the people that close to you because they understand you better (and vice versa). Now, what this really points to some profoundly intangible benefits that is backed up by the latest brain science.

Happiness

A recent study shows that there are numerous benefits tied to just one good conversation with a friend. Finding a few moments for quality conversations on a daily basis can help improve your days. (Hall et al., 2023)

Researchers say that we use communication to get our need to belong met, and, in doing so, it helps us manage our stress. Just one engaging conversation is all it takes to improve your daily well-being.

Aging Well

It is a surprising find even for researchers of the Harvard Study of Adult Development where they tracked the lives of 724 men for 75 years. They found that how happy we are in our relationships has a powerful influence on our health. Close relationships, as it turns out, are more than money or fame when it comes to keeping people happy throughout their lives. Those ties protect people from life’s discontents, help to delay mental and physical decline, and are better predictors of long and happy lives than social class, IQ, or even genes.

Brain Health

We all know that declines in sight and hearing are a natural part of aging, but did you also know that they can also be associated with mild cognitive impairment and dementia? Some researchers believe dementia alters the way the brain interprets sensory data, while others suspect that the loss of eye and ear nerve impulses is what accelerates cognitive decline. Which ever way it is, one thing is for sure- recent studies have affirmed the connection between sensory loss and dementia.

Phillip Hwang and colleagues at the University of Washington made the following discovery when they tracked 2,051 people, ages 75 or older, enrolled in the Gingko Evaluation of Memory Study for seven years:

· 11% increased risk of dementia among patients with a single sensory impairment (Visual or hearing impairment).

· 86% increased risk of dementia among patients with dual sensory impairment.

It is important to note that the risk factors compounds exponentially when more sensory modalities are involved. When his team tracked 2,051 people, ages 75 or older, enrolled in the Gingko Evaluation of Memory Study for seven years.

In another study, University of California San Francisco researchers identified a link between low sensory function scores and increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia when they studied 1,810 patients ages 70-79.

· Dementia risk was nearly seven times greater for those with severe impairments (bottom 25% sensory function scores.)

These results are so compelling that the lead researcher, Willa D. Brenowitz, suggested that treating or correcting some forms of hearing and vision loss early. Hopefully, this may provide an opportunity for intervention that could reduce or prevent cognitive decline.

This explains why the Speech therapists and Audiologist keeps reminding you to wear you hearing device. What they really want for you is to be happy, live longer and to have better brain functioning.

If you want a therapist’s help to coach you on a journey to start hearing better again, please visit www.speechtherapyadventures.com.sg for an appointment.