(BPT) - Americans love their electronics:
tablet computers, smart phones, digital cameras, HDTVs, e-book readers, MP3
players, and hearing aids.
That's right - new, modern, sleek,
life-altering hearing aids. As contoured and futuristic as the most highly
styled electronic device - or -so discreet that they're virtually invisible -
today's hearing aids are the high-tech "anti-aging" tool that can
help keep life-loving Gen-Xers and baby boomers socially, cognitively and
physically active.
For more than 34 million Americans, hearing
loss is part of life. Most frequently, it results from repeat exposure to loud
noises - like at concerts, nightclubs, sporting events, crowded restaurants,
loud workplaces and so on.
In many ways, hearing loss is the
unintended by-product of life fully lived - that is, before we knew better
about how to protect our hearing in such noisy environments. But when ignored
and left unaddressed, hearing loss robs from life. It isolates. It debilitates.
And it diminishes quality of life. It even takes a toll on fiscal wellbeing by
cutting into earnings potential. And perhaps most notable during the holidays,
unaddressed hearing loss creates barriers and unnecessarily strains even the
best of relationships.
But listen up: It doesn't have to. And it
shouldn't.
The overwhelming majority of people with
hearing loss can benefit from hearing aids. And eight out of 10 hearing aid
users say they are satisfied with the changes that have occurred in their lives
specifically due to their hearing aids - from how they feel about themselves to
the positive effects hearing aids have on their social and work lives.
High-performance technology and style have
merged with durability and ease-of-use when it comes to today's hearing aids.
The options are so varied that there is an attractive solution for just about
anyone.
Today's high-tech hearing aids can be as
discreet or as visible as you like. Designers are offering styles that appeal
to the fashion conscious, the trendsetter, the party-goer, the intellect, the
cautious grandmother, the romantic, the weekend warrior, or the guy just tired
of arguing with his wife and kids about the volume on the TV.
Simply, today's hearing aids transcend
old-world notions about hiding a condition as common as hearing loss. Whether
they sit discreetly inside your ear canal, or wrap aesthetically around the
contour of your outer ear like the latest fashion accessory, today's
high-performance hearing aids amplify life.
They unabashedly send the message:
"I'm too young and full of life to stop doing the things I love best."
If you think someone you love is struggling
with unaddressed hearing loss, ask yourself these
questions:
* Do they seem to have trouble hearing on
the telephone?
* Is it more difficult for them to follow
conversations when two or more people are talking at the same time?
* Do they keep turning up the TV or radio?
* Do they sometimes miss a telephone ring
or doorbell?
* Do they seem more irritated or tired at
big family or social gatherings?
If the answer to some or all of these
questions is yes, it's time to make an appointment with a hearing health
professional. Go to the appointment with your loved one. Your companionship may
be just the encouragement they need to take charge of their hearing loss and
regain the reins on life. It also may get you thinking about your own hearing
health needs.
So go ahead. Do something radical this
holiday season. Amplify someone's life. Buy them a hearing aid. And just maybe,
when you celebrate the New Year together, you'll be rewarded when they tell you
that they can hear the sound of ice-cubes jingling inside a glass again, or the
sound of singing birds in the early morning - and what beautiful sounds they
are. For more information on hearing loss, visit
www.betterhearing.org.
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