It remains a puzzle as to why wearing a pair of glasses—which improve vision impairment—is perceived as a sign of intelligence, while wearing hearing aids—which treat hearing impairment—has been perceived as an indication of old age.
Maybe it’s about time the stigma of hearing loss is corrected, and we redefine what it means for our bodies to work together with technology.
The question is, when you see someone wearing a pair of hearing aids, what do you think?
Here are 6 of the favorable things we think wearing hearing aids says about you.
1. You enjoy living an active life
Most social situations and activities demand healthy hearing, while spending time by yourself at home does not. Wearing hearing aids is therefore a signal that you like to be active and social, and that you’re not going to permit hearing loss stop you from pursuing your favorite experiences.
2. You’re an open-minded, proactive problem solver
When you’re faced with difficult problems or obstacles, you find ways to defeat them. You don’t wait around feeling sorry for yourself or maintain a stubborn denial of the problem—you’re broad-minded enough to admit to your hearing loss and proactive enough to treat it.
3. You’re tech-savvy
Today’s digital hearing aids are like small computers, complete with impressive features like wireless connections, bluetooth streaming, directional microphones, and background noise reduction.
By wearing a pair of modern hearing aids, it illustrates that you are on the cutting-edge of technology, ready to reap the advantages that new technology has to offer.
4. You’re health conscious
Several new studies, especially from Jonhs Hopkins University, have connected hearing loss to severe medical conditions such as depression, general cognitive decline, memory problems, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Wearing hearing aids shows that you value living an all-around healthy lifestyle, proactively taking the steps necessary for an extended, healthy life—physically, mentally, and emotionally.
5. You value your relationships
You know that the foundation for any healthy relationship is strong communication, and you’re not going to let hearing loss erect a barrier between you and those you love.
Your relationships are simply too significant to allow hearing loss to produce occasions of miscommunication, misunderstanding, and the hassle of others always needing to repeat themselves.
6. You’re self-confident
You’re not trying to conceal the reality that you wear hearing aids—you’re proud of it. You love to live an active, social life and you’re proud that you’ve taken the actions to secure your own quality of life.
In fact, many hearing aid users have reported greater performance at work, and research by the Better Hearing Institute reveals that hearing aid users reported higher household income than those with untreated hearing loss.
What do hearing aids say about you?
What did we leave out? What would you include in the list?
There are countless reasons to proudly wear hearing aids: Tell us in a comment some of the reasons you wear hearing aids so we can keep the list going.