Living an active lifestyle is important for maintaining good physical and mental health. If you’re someone who loves kayaking, playing sports or hiking through Oregon’s plethora of gorgeous trails, hearing loss doesn’t have to slow you down.
Hearing Aids Make Staying Active Easier
The vast majority of people with hearing loss benefit from the use of hearing aids. However, many people who would be helped by hearing aids don’t use them. Furthermore, some people who already have hearing aids make the choice to stop wearing them.
While many factors are at play, two of the biggest reasons people with hearing loss don’t wear their hearing aids are that they feel they do not provide enough benefit and they are concerned about the comfort and maintenance of the device.
However, hearing aids make it easier to stay connected to the people and the activities that you love, significantly improving your quality of life. When it comes to staying active, hearing aids can help you by:
- Making it easier to understand your fitness instructor or running buddy when out for a jog at Riverfront Park.
- Increasing your safety by making sure you hear important sounds like a honking horn or sirens if staying active outside.
- Allowing you to feel more oriented in your surroundings, which can improve balance and make it less likely that you experience a fall.
Keep Hearing Aids Safe During Physical Activity
While hearing aids can help you stay active if you have hearing loss, it’s important to take proper care of them to ensure they continue working well. You can do this by:
- Using hearing aid covers. Also known as hearing aid sleeves, these are made from materials like nylon, latex and cloth and go over your device to help prevent excessive sweat, dust, dirt and other debris from building up on your hearing aid and causing damage.
- Wipe off your hearing aids after the activity. Take your hearing aids out and wipe them off with a soft dry cloth after sweating or exposure to moisture. Make sure they are fully dry and that your ears are dry as well before putting them back in.
- Don’t wear hearing aids in water. Hearing aids are water-resistant, but at the moment, there is only one hearing aid on the market that labels itself as waterproof. This means that you should remove your hearing aids when swimming or otherwise submerged in water. If your hearing aids do accidentally get wet, you can use a hearing aid drying box to help remove moisture.
For more information or to schedule an appointment with a hearing expert, call Willamette ENT & Facial Plastic Surgery today.
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