I can’t tell you how many times I hear this statement in my office, “I think my hearing is good enough. I’m only here because of my family.”
And most of the time, people are right…they can get by. They can follow conversations – they are not missing everything, but what they do miss, they pretend they didn’t miss or think that everyone is mumbling.
But what I’ve learned and seen over the years, is that “good enough” usually comes at a long-term cost people don’t realize they’re paying. Hearing loss is a slow gradual decline that tricks you into thinking that you are still hearing like you were 10 years ago when you are not. By the time you realize that you might have a hearing problem, it has already started to affect your conversations and family dynamics.
The most important health issues to protect ourselves as we have birthdays are our mobility, our balance, and our cognition. The integrity of your hearing can dictate how you move forward in all three of these categories. Multiple studies will confirm the links between untreated hearing loss, earlier cognitive decline as well as a higher risk of falls in adults over 60. I will not use the term senior citizen for those over 60 since I fall into that category because I know that I don’t feel like a senior citizen and most of you don’t as well. The saying “you’re as young as you feel” is absolutely true…so think about your mobility, your balance, your cognition and your hearing then ask yourself if these issues make you feel unsure or “old” and what can I do about it to age in place?
I think we can agree that if you’re not steady on your feet, slow to answer questions, or not able to keep up with a conversation then it is extremely frustrating and eats away at your confidence. Confidence in your social situations, confidence in business, confidence with family and friends, and confidence in yourself.
Would you ever think something as simple and physiologically as complicated as your hearing might be one of the keys to aging in place? It’s one of the main ingredients in the recipe that holds the secret sauce to aging successfully. And it’s true when we hear “getting older is not for sissies” but getting older can get a little easier if we stay tuned in with all these health issues. It is especially important with ones we can control and, in most cases, correct, like our hearing and balance. Even mild hearing losses are reported to affect your long-term cognition as well as giving you a greater risk of falling.
So…now is the time to start! Join me as I am also working towards a healthier future. As I know you’ve heard before, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down… so let’s think of this as a sweet and gentle reminder that you are important to those around you and let’s get started! Good enough is clearly not good enough!
