Can you believe the holidays are already approaching? While the bustle of planning gatherings, decorating the home, shopping for gifts, etc. can fill us with excitement, it can also be a cause for overwhelm, even stress. But never fear: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is a simple, “best-kept secret” to reducing stress and feeling better—practicing gratitude.
Life offers a lot to be grateful for. But if you’re already feeling too busy to begin your list, don’t worry, we have a great place to start: better hearing.
Whether you’re currently treating your hearing loss with hearing aids or seriously thinking about it, here are the top 5 things about better hearing you’re sure to feel thankful for:
1. Improved communication
Let’s face it—communication is integral to probably every aspect of our lives: our relationships, our workplace, our social-emotional wellness, and so on. Better hearing helps us improve and maintain our ability to converse with others, allowing us to stay connected to our world and participate in every facet of life.
Whether it’s asking for what we need from the grocer, sharing a recipe idea over the phone, resolving a disagreement with our spouse over watching “the big game” during dinner, or intently listening to a Bluey recap from our tiniest guest: improving our communication through hearing aids helps us continue to engage with others, express ourselves, and function in daily life.
(Did you know that people who enjoy social relationships are more likely to live longer? Yet another big reason to feel thankful for better hearing.)
2. Restored confidence
Untreated hearing loss sometimes has a way of making us feel like we’ve lost personal power or control, particularly when it comes to trying to hear and communicate in social situations. We can probably recall the many times we nodded during conversations even though we didn’t understand. Or sat with a group at a restaurant or meeting thinking, please don’t ask me a question—I’m not exactly sure of what was just said.
Better hearing through hearing aids can replace those feelings of insecurity or anxiety with empowerment. As a result, we start initiating conversations again. We get out and participate in activities we enjoy, whether it’s volunteering for a charity over the holidays or taking a class on autumn décor-making.
We feel more self-assured attending larger celebrations or even host our own—thanks to the strengthened ability to hear everything from the doorbell to guests’ “compliments to the chef.”
3. Healthy aging
We often discuss how better hearing helps us communicate better, but that’s only the beginning of the benefits hearing aids can give us as we age. With the direct correlation between hearing health and overall health, wearing hearing aids sooner rather than later can reduce our risk of common health problems associated with aging, including cognitive decline, dementia, loneliness, and falls.
Hearing our best can also assist us in maintaining our independence as we grow older. For example, we can feel confident and safe while we’re out shopping for gifts or participating in physical activity (which can add years to our lives) before the big feast. After all, better hearing opens our spatial awareness, allowing us to distinguish and react to audible cues (from car horns to smoke alarms) that warn of safety hazards.
Moreover, how great is the ability to continue getting our own needs met—whether we’re delegating the household cleaning before guest-time or saying, “No thanks, I got this” to our usual “wing person” at the table (who used to clarify every conversation for us)?
Definitely feeling the gratitude for this one.
4. The joy of listening
Nothing “livens” life like sound—and being able to hear it is important. Think about favorite holiday music, the sound of laughter (including our own), a baby’s first word, for example, and how each can add joy to moments and color that embosses them into memories.
Even sounds as common as birds chirping or leaves crunching beneath our feet play that essential role of keeping us in the moment—and that transitory happiness or calm in our pockets.
We listen to sounds that awaken our brains to something new, whether it’s a news segment on a cultural celebration or the first-hand discovery that crows can really sound like that—who knew?
We listen to learn, to feel, to participate, to be—and thankfully, better hearing through hearing aids can help us maintain that.
5. Never missing a moment
Ask just about any hearing aid wearer what it was like before treating their hearing loss and they’ll likely respond, “I can’t believe how much I was missing.” And that’s something we can take to heart, because what is life, really, without all of its moments—big, small, and everywhere in-between:
The moment our loved one says their first line on opening night. The moment we feel our confidence soar as we greet a friend at a restaurant for a holiday catchup. The moment our favorite four-year-old talks about anything, whether it’s their number one dessert or superhero (psst…that’s you). The list goes on.
So, this holiday season, let’s allow better hearing to take us to that place of gratitude for all of the moments we’ll get to hear, experience, love, and relive through the memories we make.