Five Inspiring Reasons to Treat Your Hearing Loss

A local Audiologist’s positive perspective on wearing hearing aids

By Chandace Jeep

Hearing loss can be a result of the natural aging process, exposure to loud sounds cumulatively over our lifetime, disease, or genetics and can be challenging to accept it’s the healthy choices made following a diagnosis that are critical in overcoming a very common condition. Instead of focusing on the negative impacts of hearing loss, I choose to focus on helping patients discover the positive effects hearing aids have on their lives. In fact, you just may be surprised—and inspired—by these five things that wearing hearing says about you:

1. You Are Proactive About Your Healthcare

Addressing your hearing loss by scheduling a comprehensive hearing exam with a reputable Audiologist rather than ignoring the signs of untreated hearing loss has a positive ripple effect on your overall health. Research indicates correlations between untreated hearing loss and dementia, heart disease, diabetes, and depression. A Johns Hopkins research study found people with even a mild hearing loss were 3 times more likely to have an increased risk for falling than those with normal hearing. Managing your hearing healthcare can lead to a healthier, happier you.

2. You Plan To Stay Active

Our vibrant community has so much to offer: Hearing your friend next to you on the chair lift at Purg, a dinner date at a busy restaurant on Main, enjoying a symphony performance at the Fort Lewis Community Concert Hall, hiking Animas Mountain with your family, training for the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic…It’s easy to see why ensuring you can hear well is an important decision.

3. You Value Your Relationships

The foundation of every relationship is communication. Hearing loss impacts the ease of conversation, causing undue stress and tension. Wearing hearing aids improves speech understanding, allowing for a more natural flow of dialogue between you and your loved ones. By making the most of what today’s technology has to offer, you send a message to your friends and family conveying you care and want to stay connected.

4. You Are Self-Assured

People who treat their hearing loss are secure, confident, and handle issues directly. Today’s hearing aids are designed to be discreet while still maintaining a pure, clean sound quality. With hearing aids allowing you to stream your cell phone calls or music through your hearing aids to both ears, people are treating their hearing loss proactively at younger ages; therefore, many manufacturers offer a variety of fun colors. I have more patients than you may anticipate who choose colors such as red, pink, purple, lime, and turquoise. Have fun with your selection process. Let your personality shine.

5. You Get The Most Out Of Life

Research indicates that people who address their hearing loss tend to be optimistic, more enjoyable to be around, and choose to engage in living life to the fullest. When you wear hearing aids, you demonstrate to the world that you have too much life to live to let hearing loss get in the way. Be the dynamic person you were designed to be.

Dr. Chandace Wilson Jeep, Au.D. is a certified Doctor of Audiology and fellow of the American Academy of Audiology. She specializes in diagnosis of hearing loss and tinnitus in adults, children, and newborns as well as advanced fitting of hearing aids. She was born and raised in Durango and returned to our community in 2008. Dr. Jeep has practiced for 10 years and owns Animas Valley Audiology with office locations in both Durango and Cortez.