Can Hearing Aids Reduce Senior Fall Risk?

Updated June 10, 2024

As we get older, many of us will notice problems with hearing well before the golden years. In fact, 14% of all Americans have some form of hearing loss. It’s not unusual for a relatively healthy person over the age of 40 to begin having trouble hearing soft or distant sounds. This might seem pretty young to start losing your hearing, but the ears are very delicate. A multitude of things can go wrong with them, and let’s be honest – many of us aren’t exactly delicate with our hearing. Loud concerts, noisy rooms, blaring televisions and radios, sporting events, power tools, and even running some household appliances are all culprits in high decibel damage that eventually takes its toll as we age.

As your hearing starts to decline, your odds of falling go up. In fact, the risk of falling more than doubles if you have even mild hearing loss.¹ That’s a frightening statistic, considering that falls are the top cause of traumatic brain injury and one of the leading causes of fractures, especially hip fractures, for seniors and the elderly. According to the CDC, falls are the top cause of death among those aged 65 and older.² Senior alert systems with fall detection can help you get fast help after suffering a hard fall. You can choose an at-home emergency button device or an on-the-go medical alert pendant or bracelet with GPS to ensure that you can get help wherever you are, around the clock, no matter what. If falling is a concern or you have a history of falls, a med alert with fall detection is advised.

Why Does Hearing Loss Increase Fall Risk?

There are several reasons why hearing loss contributes to a greater fall risk.

Did you know that humans can echolocate (locate objects with sound rather than with sight)? Though most people associate echolocation as what bats do as they swoop through the air, it’s believed that many other animals have the ability to do it. Humans definitely do, and it’s a process that can be carefully honed over time. For instance, if you close your eyes, you can usually have a strong idea of the size of the area you are standing in – you can tell if you are standing in a small room or a large stadium, simply based on the way sounds bounce off the objects around you. Perhaps you can’t explain how you know, but you know. But you have to be able to hear higher frequencies to echolocate well, and once those frequencies are gone, you can have a little trouble with spatial awareness. A lack of being able to echolocate can lead to falls and subsequent injury.

When you suffer initial hearing decline, you usually begin to lose not only the higher frequencies, but softer sounds become more difficult to hear as well. That includes the sound of others speaking to you. Your brain tries to process what they say, which means you listen much more closely.

That takes cognitive ability away from other things, which can then reduce your ability to navigate your surroundings. As a result, you could easily miss the curb, take a wrong step, or simply trip over the slightest variation in the surface you’re walking on.

Additionally, researchers believe that hearing loss can affect a person’s balance. When the vestibular function of the inner ear is working properly, you have a much easier time with balance. But when it’s off the slightest bit, your balance begins to suffer. Balance issues are compounded because of the other physical effects of getting older, including the loss of muscle mass and weakness in the limbs. Added all together, suddenly seniors have a much greater risk of falling.

Protecting yourself from the potential safety risks that come with hearing loss is vitally important to living a strong, healthy life throughout your golden years. That’s where an emergency button alarm for elderly adults comes into play. If one of the risks of hearing loss is falls, then protecting yourself from the dire consequences of fall injuries is a good step in making sure you stay healthy for as long as possible.

A medical alert allows seniors to simply press a wearable alert button during any type of emergency. If you suffer from dizziness, weakness, fatigue, or any other issue that leaves you feeling unsteady on your feet, sit down and press the button! Help can be summoned in seconds by connected with a live monitoring center.

How to Reduce the Risk of Falls

Even those with hearing issues can reduce their fall risk. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, those who opt for hearing aids and wear them consistently can experience a significant decline in their risk of falling.³

The study looked at 300 people with hearing loss and asked them about their use of hearing aids. Then they asked about their history of falls. The researchers also examined the use of medications, chronic conditions, and other factors that could lead to dizziness, weakness, and other reasons why a fall might be more likely. They wanted to rule out problems other than hearing loss as potential culprits in the falls that were reported.

The study found that those who wore hearing aids had a 50% lower chance of experiencing a fall compared to those who didn’t use hearing aids. And those who wore their hearing aids consistently – which was defined as at least four hours each day – saw an even more significant decline in falls, with 65% lower odds of taking a nasty tumble. With numbers like that, there’s no doubt that hearing aids can help prevent falls for those with hearing loss. For those concerned about falling, a medical alert pendant or wristband with fall detection can bring peace of mind.

About 80% of hearing loss can be helped by hearing aids, but only about one in four adults who need hearing aids actually use them.⁴ There can be many reasons why a person doesn’t feel comfortable wearing hearing aids. Some don’t like the way they look and consider them a sign of aging. Hearing aids that don’t fit well can cause irritation and make a person more likely to skip wearing them. Adjusting to the amplified sound of hearing aids, however, can be one of the biggest problems. It can take some time to get used to the sounds you hear once you begin using hearing aids, and that adjustment period can include headaches, irritability, and other issues.

Hearing aids used to be rather expensive and available by prescription only. That all changed in 2022, when hearing assistive devices were made available over the counter, which led to a much more affordable price tag. This puts hearing aids for mild to moderate hearing loss within financial reach for those who might not have been able to obtain them before. Med alerts can also be a very affordable way to protect senior health and well-being.

Getting Checked for Hearing Loss

Hearing loss can be stealthy; you might not even realize you are experiencing it until others begin to point it out to you. By then, you might have more severe hearing loss that needs a prescription hearing aid. Talk to your doctor as soon as possible about testing for hearing loss and remember that diminished hearing can begin very early; you could easily have mild hearing loss before you’re even old enough to join AARP!

Tests for hearing loss are very simple and straightforward. They can quickly tell you if you are suffering from hearing loss, how bad the hearing loss is, and what strength of hearing aid could best help you. If you try over the counter hearing aids and they don’t seem to work well, you might need something stronger or more customized to your situation.

Hearing aids aren’t the only devices you should turn to in an effort to stay safe and healthy while you age in place. The medical alert necklace from Alert1 is a great way to ensure that in any type of emergency, you can get help fast with simply the press of a button. Life-saving, affordable medical alert technology is a great choice for any senior or elderly adult who wants to life safely and independently.