Top 5 traits of healthy aging—achievable through better hearing

This post originally appeared on Starkey.com.

Healthy Aging Month is here! It’s a time when we celebrate the positive aspects of growing older. And believe it or not, there are lots—everything from gaining a greater acceptance of ourselves to acquiring wisdom from our life experiences.

What does healthy aging mean to you? Interestingly enough, more than 21,000 adults aged 55 and older were surveyed with that very question last year. As we reviewed the answers, the biggest thing we noticed was how much taking care of hearing health could help people achieve overall wellness into the future. (And that also includes reducing the risk of dementia.)

In other words, hearing aids could be just the asset we need to prevent hearing loss from interfering with our best life as we age.

Let’s explore the top 5 characteristics that matter most when it comes to healthy aging (based on the survey results)—and how better hearing can help us achieve them.

1. Sense of purpose

Having a sense of responsibility or “reason to get out of bed each morning” is important at every age, and the ability to hear and communicate is a top way to sustain it. For example, when we can easily interact with others, we can do things like work longer before retiring, if we desire. Or give back to our communities by volunteering. Or even just continue to “be there” as the best-ever listener for our friends and family. The list goes on, with our best hearing.

2. Managing stress

It’s no secret that unmanaged stress can unfortunately lead to numerous health issues ranging from high blood pressure to heart disease. And raise your hand if you enjoy feeling things like headaches, fatigue, or anxiety, in the meantime? (We didn’t think so.) Fortunately, treating your hearing loss with hearing aids can help reduce stressors.

Like social anxiety and/or isolation, for example. Again, being able to hear and participate in conversations with others through improved hearing can motivate us to get out and see friends or family without the fear of being unable to hear them over background noise or other voices.

Moreover, hearing our best—and the better awareness of our surroundings that comes with it—makes it easier and safer to partake in physical activities such as exercise (a big de-stressor): Nothing like that upbeat feeling you get when your body’s endorphins are increased through a brisk walk or game of pickleball with a friend (Better hearing = 1, Stress = 0).

3. Physical activity

It’s no wonder that “physical activity” was named a top attribute of healthy aging—it can actually add years to our lives while helping to prevent health conditions ranging from strokes to arthritis. As mentioned, better hearing gives us the safety and awareness to stay active. But did you also know that the latest hearing aids, Genesis AI, can additionally count our steps, track our fitness-based activities, and allow us to set exercise goals, simply by connecting the devices with the My Starkey app? Physical activity, check.

4. Lifelong learning

Keeping our brains sharp and engaged is integral to learning new skills, pursuing a hobby, or educating ourselves on any topic we choose. And how we do this into the future is through better hearing. When we have hearing loss, our brain spends too much energy trying to process what it’s hearing, leaving it less energy to spend on thinking and memory—which can also contribute to dementia.

So, for the sake of enriching our lives through learning as we age, it’s important to understand the significant connection between hearing health and brain health—and treat any hearing loss we may have.

5. Interacting with others

As you’ve probably figured out by now, hearing clearly is our biggest ally for communicating and staying connected to others. Indeed, it not only allows us to continue conversing with people, but also make plans with loved ones, attend gatherings, and maintain relationships in general. And when you consider the fact that those who enjoy social relationships are more likely to live longer—you really can’t go wrong.

Preserving our ability to interact with others as we age is also an important way to stay independent and get our own needs met, whether we’re out running errands or speaking to our physician. Better hearing, better living.

Getting your hearing evaluated is easy

So, during this Healthy Aging Month, start preparing for the happy, healthy future you want and deserve by getting your hearing evaluated by a licensed hearing care professional. (Experts recommend doing this every three years once you’re 50 anyway, so think of it like a routine physical or eye exam.)

Hearing tests are painless and often free. And if it turns out you do have hearing loss, that same hearing care professional can assess it, measure it, and consult with you about your options. Simply type your zip code in here to find a licensed provider near you.

Whatever healthy aging means to you, remember that choosing to treat your hearing loss is choosing health—and happiness—for your future years.

Learn more about your hearing health, whether that’s getting an ear cleaning, hearing aid repair or trying a hearing test at Land of Lincoln Hearing.