Does Your Hearing Get Worse If You Don't Wear a Hearing Aid? (2024)

FAQs

Does Your Hearing Get Worse If You Don't Wear a Hearing Aid? ›

It is essential to recognize that not wearing a hearing aid doesn't directly worsen the underlying hearing loss. However, the lack of auditory stimulation may lead to other complications, such as difficulty understanding speech, even when amplified.

So, the longer you wait to get hearing aids, or to wear them, the less stimulation your brain and hearing nerves get and the worse you become at recognizing speech. Once your nerve is affected, you can't reverse the damage.

People who work in loud environments are at higher risk. This includes construction workers, musicians, farmers, miners and military personnel. Listening to loud music with headphones or at clubs or gyms also puts you at risk. Most people find their hearing gets worse as they get older.

Water can damage the sensitive electronics within the hearing aid device so it should never be used when cleaning. The moisture from the water can corrode the batteries too, and this will affect the performance of your hearing aid.

Ask your healthcare provider about hearing aids if you: Feel that everyone around you speaks too softly or mumbles. Often ask people to repeat what they said. Have difficulty hearing people on the phone.

It is essential to keep both your ears active. But by only wearing one hearing aid, you are effectively leaving the other dormant in its current state of hearing loss. If one or both of your ears are left without stimulation of sounds, then it can start to affect your understanding of speech and noises.

The most common cause of acquired hearing loss is noise, which accounts for over one quarter of people affected by hearing loss. You can protect your hearing by reducing your exposure to loud noise or wearing suitable protection such as ear muffs or ear plugs.

“Brain scans show us that hearing loss may contribute to a faster rate of atrophy in the brain,” Lin says. “Hearing loss also contributes to social isolation. You may not want to be with people as much, and when you are you may not engage in conversation as much. These factors may contribute to dementia.”

What are the disadvantages of hearing aid? ›

Adverse events may include ear canal or outer ear skin irritation, injury from the device (like cuts or scratches, or burns from an overheated battery), pieces of the device lodged in your ear canal, or sudden increased severity in hearing loss with device use.

The official definition of disability is: 'a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities. ' As we are talking about hearing loss we are referring to a disability affecting one's senses.

Because people experience various levels of hearing impairment, and the thresholds identified above class hearing loss as a disability, the act of wearing a hearing aid does not automatically make a person disabled. The hearing tests conducted by an audiologist are performed without a hearing aid.

While not wearing a hearing aid will not cause your hearing thresholds on an audiogram to worsen, it could impact your ability to process what you hear, particularly in background noise. For example, choosing whether or not to wear glasses will not impact your vision, but it sure makes the world easier to navigate.

About hearing loss

age – hearing loss increases from about half of those aged 60 to 70, to 70% of those aged 70 and over, and 80% of those aged 80 and over.

1. Jabra Enhance: Our top pick. Type of hearing aid: ITE (in-the-ear), mini RIE (receiver-in-ear), and RIC (receiver-in-canal). Degree of hearing loss: Mild to moderate.

When not on your ears or in use, store your hearing aids in a dry, preferably cool place — away from heat and moisture. If you have rechargeable hearing aids, your charging station is the ideal storage spot, and can be plugged in next to your bed on a nightstand or dresser.

Hearing loss usually develops over a period of several years. Since it is painless and gradual, you might not notice it. What you might notice is a ringing or other sound in your ear (called tinnitus), which could be the result of long-term exposure to noise that has damaged the hearing nerve.

A muffled, distorted, or any other “funny” quality to the sound you're hearing could indicate damaged hearing aids.

Hearing aids can last anywhere from three years to seven — for some people, even longer. Variables affecting this lifespan include how well the instrument is built, how well it's maintained, and how much wear and tear it experiences being worn in your ear for many hours a day.