It remains a puzzle as to why wearing eye glasses—which improve vision impairment—is perceived as a sign of intelligence, while wearing hearing aids—which treat 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 work together 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 gatherings and activities demand healthy hearing, while hanging out alone in your 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 permit hearing loss hold you back from pursuing your favorite activities.
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 assert a stubborn denial of the problem—you’re open-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, complete with impressive features like wireless connectivity, bluetooth streaming, directional microphones, and background noise reduction.
By wearing a pair of modern hearing aids, it illustrates that you are on the leading-edge of technology, set to reap 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 issues, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Wearing hearing aids illustrates that you value living an overall healthy lifestyle, proactively taking the steps required for a long, healthy life—physically, mentally, and emotionally.
5. You value your relationships
You recognize 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 the people you love.
Your relationships are just too significant to permit hearing loss to produce instances of miscommunication, misunderstanding, and the hassle of others always needing to repeat themselves.
6. You’re self-confident
You’re not trying to keep hidden the reality that you wear hearing aids—you’re proud of it. You like to live an active, social life and you’re proud that you’ve taken the steps to ensure your own quality lifestyle.
In fact, many hearing aid users have reported enhanced performance at work, and research by the Better Hearing Institute shows 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 many reasons to wear hearing aids with pride: Tell us in a comment some of the reasons you wear hearing aids so we can keep the list going.
