New Year, New Goals: Why Hearing Health Should Top Your 2025 Resolutions
January 1, 2025 – (Innsbruck, Austria): As 2025 approaches, many of us reflect on how to start the year fresh – whether by hitting the gym, eating healthier, or quitting bad habits. But how often do we resolve to care for one of our most vital senses: our hearing? For 2025, MED-EL, a global leader in hearing solutions, is calling attention to the importance of hearing health as part of overall wellness.
Recent global market research by MED-EL highlights the need for greater awareness: More than half of respondents (52%) test their hearing infrequently, and nearly a quarter (24%) never have their hearing tested. Among younger adults aged 18 to 24, the percentage of those who never undergo hearing tests increases to a staggering 29%. “Hearing is an essential part of our health, but these findings show that it is often overlooked,” says Dr Patrick D’Haese, Corporate Director of Awareness and Public Affairs at MED-EL. “The new year is the perfect opportunity to take proactive steps toward better hearing, starting with regular hearing checks.”
Why Hearing Health Matters
Neglecting hearing health can have far-reaching consequences. Did you know:
- Your ears never sleep: Even while you are resting, your ears stay active, processing sounds and alerting you to potential dangers.
- Your inner ear contains 15,000 tiny hair cells: These cells are essential for hearing, but once damaged, they do not grow back – leading to permanent hearing loss.
- Noise-induced hearing loss is one of the most common types.1 Prolonged exposure to loud sounds – whether from fireworks or headphones – can damage these fragile cells.
- Untreated hearing loss impacts more than just your ears: It is linked to cognitive decline2, a higher risk of falls, depression, cardiovascular diseases, and even diabetes.3
- Hearing loss is a leading modifiable risk factor for dementia: But studies suggest that hearing aids and cochlear implants can help slow cognitive decline in older adults.4
Small Steps for Better Hearing in 2025
Dr Patrick D'Haese emphasizes: “We often take our hearing for granted, but it plays an integral role in our daily lives. Good hearing is not just about sound; it is about connection to the people that we love, social engagement, and quality of life. Taking even small steps now can lead to significant improvements in well-being – not just for you, but for those around you.”
Here are practical ways to protect your hearing:
- Get regular hearing checks: Early detection is key. Visit an audiologist or ENT doctor for a hearing test or start with an online hearing assessment from the comfort of your home.
- Protect your ears: Use ear protection in noisy environments and limit exposure to loud sounds.
- Seek the right solution: Hearing devices and implants offer a transformative option for those with a wide range of hearing loss.
A New Year’s Resolution Worth Keeping
This New Year let’s broaden our idea of health and wellness to include hearing care. By addressing hearing loss early, you can enhance not just your hearing but your entire quality of life. Visit the MED-EL website for a free online hearing test and make 2025 the year of prioritizing your ears. Here is to a happy, healthy, and hearing-focused 2025!
1 Natarajan N et al., Noise-Induced Hearing Loss. J Clin Med. 2023
2 Lin FR, et al., Hearing loss and cognitive decline in older adults. JAMA Intern Med. 2013
3 Besser Jet al., Comorbidities of hearing loss and the implications of multimorbidity for audiological care. Hear Res. 2018
4 Livingston G et al., Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet standing Commission. Lancet. 2024
About MED-EL
MED-EL Medical Electronics, a leader in implantable hearing solutions, is driven by a mission to overcome hearing loss as a barrier to communication and quality of life. The Austrian-based, privately owned business was co-founded by industry pioneers
Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair, whose ground-breaking research led to the development of the world’s first micro-electronic multi-channel cochlear implant (CI), which was successfully implanted in 1977 and was the basis for what is known as the
modern CI today. This laid the foundation for the successful growth of the company in 1990, when they hired their first employees. To date, MED-EL has more than 2,900 employees from around 80 nations and 30 locations worldwide.
The company offers
the widest range of implantable and non-implantable solutions to treat all types of hearing loss, enabling people in 137 countries enjoy the gift of hearing with the help of a MED-EL device. MED-EL’s hearing solutions include cochlear and middle
ear implant systems, a combined electric acoustic stimulation hearing implant system, auditory brainstem implants as well as surgical and non-surgical bone conduction devices. www.medel.com
CEO
Doz. DI Dr DDr med. h.c. Ingeborg Hochmair
Press Contact
PR & Corporate Communications
MED-EL Medical Electronics
Fürstenweg 77a
6020 Innsbruck
Austria
T: +43 5 7788
E: [email protected]
