Whether you enjoy taking walks around your neighborhood or playing basketball with your friends at Katy City Park, staying active is crucial to staying healthy and happy.
If you have hearing loss, you’ll be happy to know that hearing aids can actually make it easier to get regular physical activity. Let’s take a look at a few ways they can help, as well as how to care for your devices when you are staying active.
How Hearing Aids Make Exercise Easier for People with Hearing Loss
Research tells us that nearly 28.8 million adults in the United States could benefit from using hearing aids. One of the many ways they can help people with hearing loss is by making it easier for them to stay active and engaged.
Hearing aids provide:
- Improved communication. Whether you play a team sport, enjoy walking with a buddy or need to follow your fitness coach’s instructions, hearing aids make it easier to understand speech and communicate with others.
- Better balance. Untreated hearing loss may lead to poorer balance, which can affect physical performance. Hearing aids can help you feel steadier and more oriented to your surroundings.
- Increased safety. Depending on where you exercise, you may need to watch out for noises alerting you to potential danger (such as an oncoming car or emergency vehicle when you’re out riding your bike). Hearing aids make picking up these sounds much easier.
- The ability to stream music. If you love listening to music while working up a sweat, hearing aids can make that even easier. Many modern devices come equipped with Bluetooth® technology, meaning your hearing aids can double as earbuds. You can easily stream your favorite tunes directly into your device, no matter where you are.
Will Sweat Harm Your Hearing Aids?
Some hearing aid users worry that too much sweat might damage their devices. However, today’s hearing aids are made to be somewhat water-resistant. This means that they can handle getting a bit of sweat on them; they just need to be properly cleaned afterward.
Take your hearing aids out after exercise (and before you get in the shower) and wipe them off with a soft, dry cloth or a soft-bristled brush. Store them somewhere cool, dry and safe while you shower and make sure your ears are completely dry and your hearing aids are clean before putting them back in.
Additionally, you can also wear a sweatband or hearing aid sleeves to help protect your device from excess sweat.
Can You Swim with Hearing Aids?
No. Hearing aids are not waterproof and cannot be submerged in water. If you like to swim as part of your exercise routine, make sure to take your hearing aids out before you get in the water and keep them stored in their case away from the pool.
To learn more about hearing aids or to schedule an appointment with one of our experts, call Today’s Hearing today.