It remains a puzzle as to why wearing a pair of glasses—which treat vision impairment—is perceived as an indication of intelligence, while wearing hearing aids—which treat hearing impairment—has been perceived as an indication 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 engage 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 enjoy living an active life
Most social situations and activities demand healthy hearing, while hanging out by yourself at home does not. Wearing hearing aids is therefore a sign that you like to be active and social, and that you’re not going to allow hearing loss stop you from pursuing your favorite activities.
2. You’re an open-minded, proactive problem solver
When you’re faced with difficult challenges or obstacles, you find ways to overcome them. You don’t wait around feeling sorry for yourself or retain 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 miniature computers, complete with incredible features like wireless connectivity, bluetooth streaming, directional microphones, and background noise reduction.
By sporting a pair of modern hearing aids, it illustrates that you are on the cutting-edge of technology, prepared 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 dangerous medical ailments such as depression, general cognitive decline, memory issues, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Wearing hearing aids illustrates that you value living an all-around healthy lifestyle, proactively taking the steps required for a lengthy, healthy life—physically, mentally, and emotionally.
5. You treasure your relationships
You understand that the groundwork for any healthy relationship is strong communication, and you’re not going to let hearing loss create a barrier between you and the people you love.
Your relationships are just too important to allow hearing loss to create 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 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 actions to secure your own total well being.
In fact, many hearing aid users have reported stronger 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 include in the list?
There are numerous reasons to proudly wear hearing aids: let us know in a comment some of the reasons you wear hearing aids so we can keep the list going.