At age 91, my mother finally got hearing aids.
It wasn’t the well-reasoned arguments that my sisters and I espoused, such as:
Hearing loss is strongly linked to dementia and cognitive decline, and that hearing aids may help slow this by keeping the brain engaged.
Or that hearing aids can help maintain relationships and support active participation in family and community life.
Or that good hearing is critical for detecting warnings like sirens, alarms, or someone calling out in an emergency.
It didn’t even motivate her when we told her today’s hearing aids are small, inconspicuous, and high-tech—they can adjust automatically, reduce background noise, and even connect to phones and TVs.