Will 2023 be the year you finally hear better? Like so many older adults, you may be experiencing difficulty hearing in crowded environments, watching a movie, or even zooming with family and friends. If you experience this, you are definitely not alone. As the 3rd most common chronic physical condition in the United States, hearing loss becomes ever more common as you get older, especially after age 65. Whether your loss comes from aging, genetics, exposure to loud noise as a younger person, or even the medications you have taken, once your hearing has been damaged there are few if any ways to reverse course and improve your hearing, outside of using a hearing aid device. You should also be aware that if you suffer from diabetes, heart disease, or circulatory problems you are at heightened risk of hearing loss, due to a decreased blood supply in the blood vessels that occupy your inner ear.

And it’s not just a matter of annoyance or asking people to repeat their comments. As we’ve previously noted, hearing loss is associated with such conditions as depression, dementia, and a heightened risk of falling. In fact, a recent post from the National Institute on Aging makes clear, loss of not only hearing but also vision and smell can all affect and impair your cognitive functioning. That’s a huge concern for the nearly 50% of people over age 75 who have disabling hearing loss. But it’s also a possible modifiable risk when it comes to cognitive decline. As a new research study published in JAMA Neurology reports, for older adults with hearing loss, hearing aids may reduce their risk of cognitive decline by almost 20%. While further research, including a randomized clinical trial, needs to confirm this, it does appear that the use of a hearing aid can diminish the risk of dementia typically associated with hearing loss. For more on this study, click here.

Fortunately, as we reported earlier, access to hearing aids should now be easier with the new availability of over-the-counter hearing aids. With several months of sales now behind us, there does seem to be a consensus emerging among aging organizations and experts regarding some of the best options for over-the-counter models. Brands like Lexie, Jabra, and Eargo seem to have some of the best-rated hearing aids. However, there are many brands and also many scams emerging when it comes to over-the-counter hearing aids. As it turns out, there is an unscrupulous market emerging of cheap devices that, while marketing themselves as hearing aids, really do little other than amplify sound. In fact, there are reports that Amazon has been beset by several misleading and fraudulent device marketers and that they have had to take steps to curtail the misinformation and misleading products on their site. In general, there are several clues as to whether you are dealing with a legitimate brand and manufacturer: Do they have a website and contact information? Do they offer a trial period and what is their return policy? Is their pricing dramatically cheaper or are their claims substantially different than other manufacturers? What kind of warranty do they offer? Do they allow for customization of the device? You can also go to the FDA website to see if they are a manufacturer who has registered their device so that they are in accordance with FDA regulations. Overall, given the quality of life considerations, not to mention the potential impact on physical and cognitive health, it makes sense for you to investigate the options for hearing aids now that they are more available and affordable: but make sure you do so with your wit and wisdom about you.