Hey, Men—here’s why it’s important to prioritize your hearing health

This blog post originally appeared on Starkey.com

In his newest blog written exclusively for Starkey, Justin Osmond—who was born with a severe-to-profound hearing loss and has been wearing hearing aids since he was two years old—talks to men about the importance of prioritizing their hearing health during Men’s Health Month, already in progress.

To all my football, pickleball, basketball, fishing and hunting buddies, and to all the men out there who have an active lifestyle and desire to continue staying healthy and living life to the fullest—here’s a message for you as we celebrate Men’s Health Month:

There’s no better time than today to check in on your overall well-being if you haven’t already. And a crucial part of that is to get your hearing tested and to treat any hearing loss you may have.

Avoidance can lead to anguish

Let’s admit it: Most of us have some type of stigma towards something—especially when it’s new or we don’t fully understand what it is. Or, if it doesn’t fit our mental paradigm or our personal code of conduct, we tend to steer as far away from it as possible. Sound familiar?

With this type of mentality and attitude in mind, we don’t like to admit when something in our life isn’t quite going the way we thought—or it isn’t working the way it should.

For example, let’s say our hearing is not quite working the way it used to and seems to be getting worse. We become frustrated, isolated, lonely, depressed and full of anxiety, right?

If any of you have felt any of these symptoms, welcome to my world. I’ve dealt with these types of health issues for as long as I can remember. But the good news is, you are not alone and there are many wonderful solutions that can help with your hearing and ultimately, your overall well-being.

Let’s not let our hearing loss hold us back by letting it go untreated.

Prioritizing hearing health puts quality of life first

We men typically don’t like to make regular doctor visits because we don’t like to hear bad news from our health professional. But ironically, that is exactly what we are going to hear if we don’t get our regular health check-ups.

If we want to keep playing sports, going fishing, staying healthy and living an active lifestyle, we must take care of ourselves.

It took me a long time to embrace this truth, but I truly believe that a hearing loss is more obvious than a hearing aid.

The sooner we can swallow our manly ego and admit that we need help, the sooner we can have a better quality of life.

The sooner we take advantage of the latest hearing technology, the sooner we will be reconnected with life—enjoying music and movies, engaging in conversations and activities, and avoiding future health decline, such as dementia (which has been linked to untreated hearing loss).

Let’s prevent future health problems by prioritizing our hearing and mental health, in the process.

As we celebrate Men’s Health Month, please join me as we raise awareness of men’s health issues and encourage early detection and treatment of various diseases and conditions—including hearing loss.

Looking after your hearing has never been easier

Listen, there are plenty of things we don’t have any control over, but hearing loss is not one of them. Again, this important month is the perfect time to get your hearing issues squared away. It’s super easy to do:

You can start by taking Starkey’s free online hearing test. Or simply schedule an appointment with a licensed hearing care professional. It’s as easy as typing your zip code in here to pull up a list of providers near you. They will be happy to evaluate your hearing and consult with you on possible treatment options.

Thanks, guys, for taking the time to put your health first—I’ll see you out on the Pickleball court!

You can follow Justin Osmond on Facebook at JAOsmond; on Instagram at justin_osmond; on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinosmond/ or at his website www.justinosmond.com

By Starkey Hearing