It remains a mystery as to why wearing eye glasses—which correct vision impairment—is perceived as a sign of intelligence, while wearing hearing aids—which correct hearing impairment—has been perceived as a sign of old age.
Perhaps it’s about time the stigma of hearing loss is corrected, and we redefine what it means for our bodies to collaborate with technology.
The question is, when you look at someone using a pair of hearing aids, what do you think?
Here are 6 of the positive things we think wearing hearing aids says about you.
1. You enjoy living an active life
Most social events and activities require healthy hearing, while hanging out by yourself at home does not. Wearing hearing aids is therefore an indicator that you like to be active and social, and that you’re not going to allow hearing loss hold you back from pursuing your favorite activities.
2. You’re an proactive, open-minded problem solver
When you’re faced with difficult problems or obstacles, you find ways to conquer 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 practical enough to treat it.
3. You’re tech-savvy
Today’s digital hearing aids are like tiny computers, equipped with remarkable capabilities like wireless connectivity, bluetooth streaming, directional microphones, and background noise reduction.
By sporting a pair of modern hearing aids, it demonstrates that you are on the cutting-edge of technology, prepared to enjoy the benefits that new technology has to offer.
4. You’re health conscious
Several new studies, particularly from Jonhs Hopkins University, have linked hearing loss to major medical conditions including depression, general cognitive decline, memory problems, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Wearing hearing aids indicates that you value living an all-around healthy lifestyle, proactively taking the steps required for a long, healthy life—physically, mentally, and emotionally.
5. You treasure your relationships
You know that the groundwork for any healthy relationship is strong communication, and you’re not going to let hearing loss erect a barrier between you and the people you love.
Your relationships are just too important to permit hearing loss to produce occasions of miscommunication, misunderstanding, and the stress of others always needing to repeat themselves.
6. You’re self-confident
You’re not attempting to keep hidden the fact 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 steps to secure your own quality lifestyle.
In fact, many hearing aid users have reported better 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 add to the list?
There are numerous reasons to wear hearing aids with pride: let us know in a comment some of the reasons you wear hearing aids so we can keep the list going.