There’s one way in which hearing aids and eyeglasses are the same: both treat a sensory loss. However, there are more ways that they are different. We review these differences below.
Hearing Aids Are Less Common
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, “About 28.8 million U.S. adults could benefit from using hearing aids.” However, the Hearing Loss Association of America reports that, “Only one in five people who would benefit from a hearing aid actually wears one.” Meanwhile, “There are 166.5 million US adults (63.7%) wearing Rx eyeglasses as of 2021,” states a report by The Vision Council.
We believe that this is due in part due to there being less stigma around wearing glasses. However, this wasn’t always true. Eyeglasses were once the sign of age and impairment, but now they are often seen as a fashion statement. We believe the same is happening to hearing aids – they are becoming more of a wearable tech than anything else.
Hearing Aids Don’t Restore “20/20” Hearing
When you put on your pair of prescription eyeglasses, they more or less restore your vision to 20/20 in most cases. This same effect is not achieved by putting in a set of hearing aids. Rather than restoring hearing, hearing aids work by amplifying sounds to a level your ears can detect. So while you’ll certainly hear better, it won’t be the way you heard when you were younger.
Hearing Aids Require an Adjustment Period
The longer you wait to treat your hearing loss, the harder it will be to treat, and the longer your adjustment period will be. This is because your brain will essentially need to re-learn how to hear certain sounds and filter out other ones, like the sound of your refrigerator humming.
Hearing Aids Have Multiple Settings & Programs
Glasses help you see well in all environments, but hearing aids have programs you need to switch between to achieve this. For example, the setting you use while hosting book club in your home is probably different than the one you’ll use to hear your conversation partner. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, call Augusta – Aiken ENT & Allergy today.