You’re supposed to use your hearing aids 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. It’s the same for hearing aids. Occasionally we forget to take 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, honestly, the majority of them are rather negative.
Consequences of Failing to Use Your Hearing Aids
There will be repercussions of varying levels of intensity and severity, both to your health and social life, if you don’t use your hearing aid. The effects and repercussions of failing to wear your hearing aids could include the following.
Your Hearing Will Keep Diminishing
The technology of hearing aids is rather amazing. They increase your ability to hear and help keep your auditory complex (the part of the brain that interprets sound) working efficiently.
You may damage your hearing even more if, instead of using your hearing aids, you start turning the volume up 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 you will most likely end up needing more powerful hearing aids in the future if you fail to use your current pair because your hearing will continue to get worse.
Social Engagement Will Become More Stressful (And Less Consistent)
You know when you go to the market and you get into a short conversation with the cashier? Those conversations are pleasant. In a world dominated by technology, these little chats are a touch of humanity.
These everyday social interactions suddenly become very difficult when you don’t wear your hearing aids. You repeatedly miss parts of the conversation and need to ask people to repeat what they said. Again and again. And after that, the conversation just quickly falls apart. That may not sound serious but every time a scenario like this occurs, you will tend to retreat socially more and more. And that can cause even more substantial problems.
Cognitive Decline And Hearing Aids
When you isolate yourself socially, your brain gets a lot less exercise. After you have a nice 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
- Balance troubles
- Memory problems
- Declines in energy or productivity
But there’s more. Because hearing sound is vitally important to certain parts of your brain and nervous system. Without stimulation, certain nerves will start to weaken, and your auditory complex begins to atrophy. This can lead to an even more rapid mental decline (or, even in the best-case scenario, make adapting to your hearing aids even harder).
Your brain remains happy, stimulated, and active when you use hearing aids.
Loss of Independence
It’s not uncommon, as you get older, to need a little more help. 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 wearing your hearing aid, you could be expediting the loss of independence that often accompanies aging.
When you don’t use your hearing aids, it can rapidly become more difficult to answer the phone or have a conversation with your neighbor. It’s possible that you will miss important alerts. Perhaps you fail to hear your dog barking when there’s somebody at the door or your cat meowing at 6 am when he needs food.
What’s The Solution?
No matter how technologically advanced hearing aids become, they won’t resolve all of life’s problems. But they will solve many issues related to not wearing your hearing aids.
You should come see us for assistance if you’re having issues with your hearing aids or if they’re uncomfortable.
But if you’re looking for reasons to refrain from using your hearing aids, if you’re just forgetting them in the nightstand drawer, it’s worth taking a little time to think about what may be gained by wearing them… and what could 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
