It remains a puzzle as to why wearing eye glasses—which correct 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 reversed, and we redefine what it means for our bodies to work together with technology.
The question is, when you see 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 love living an active life
Most social events and activities require healthy hearing, while spending time alone 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 allow hearing loss stop you from pursuing your favorite experiences.
2. You’re an proactive, open-minded problem solver
When you’re confronted with difficult challenges or obstacles, you find ways to overcome them. You don’t wait around feeling sorry for yourself or assert a stubborn denial of the issue—you’re broad-minded enough to admit to your hearing loss and proactive enough to correct it.
3. You’re tech-savvy
Today’s digital hearing aids are like miniature computers, complete with incredible features like wireless connections, bluetooth streaming, directional microphones, and background noise reduction.
By sporting a pair of modern hearing aids, it illustrates that you are on the leading-edge of technology, prepared to reap the rewards that new technology has to offer.
4. You’re health conscious
Several new studies, especially from Jonhs Hopkins University, have linked hearing loss to dangerous medical conditions including depression, general cognitive decline, memory problems, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Wearing hearing aids shows that you value living an overall healthy lifestyle, proactively taking the steps required for a lengthy, healthy life—physically, mentally, and emotionally.
5. You value your relationships
You understand 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 simply too important 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 attempting to conceal the fact that you wear hearing aids—you’re proud of it. You love to live an active, sociable 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 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 miss? 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.