Cognitive decline and hearing loss, what’s the link? Brain health and hearing loss have a link which medical science is beginning to comprehend. It was found that even mild neglected hearing impairment raises your risk of developing dementia.
These two seemingly unconnected health conditions might have a pathological link. So how can a hearing exam help decrease the danger of hearing loss related dementia?
What is dementia?
The Mayo Clinic states that dementia is a group of symptoms that alter memory, alter the ability to think concisely, and decrease socialization skills. Alzheimer’s is a prevalent form of cognitive decline most people think of when they hear the word dementia. Around five million people in the US are affected by this progressive type of dementia. Exactly how hearing health effects the danger of dementia is finally well understood by scientists.
How hearing works
The ear components are very complex and each one is important when it comes to good hearing. As waves of sound vibration move towards the inner ear, they get amplified. Inside the maze of the inner ear, little hair cells vibrate in response to the sound waves to transmit electrical signals that the brain decodes.
As time passes, many people develop a slow decline in their ability to hear due to years of trauma to these delicate hair cells. Comprehension of sound becomes a lot more difficult due to the reduction of electrical impulses to the brain.
This gradual hearing loss is sometimes considered a normal and inconsequential part of the aging process, but research indicates that’s not accurate. Whether the impulses are unclear and jumbled, the brain will try to decode them anyway. That effort puts strain on the organ, making the person struggling to hear more vulnerable to developing cognitive decline.
Here are a few disease risk factors with hearing loss in common:
- Irritability
- Exhaustion
- Trouble learning new skills
- Weak overall health
- Impaired memory
- Reduction in alertness
- Depression
The risk of developing cognitive decline can increase based on the degree of your hearing loss, too. A person with only minor impairment has double the risk. Hearing loss that is more severe will raise the risk by three times and very severe untreated hearing loss can put you at up to a five times greater risk. The cognitive skills of more than 2,000 older adults were observed by Johns Hopkins University over six years. They discovered that hearing loss significant enough to interfere with conversation was 24 percent more likely to result in memory and cognitive issues.
Why is a hearing exam worthwhile?
Hearing loss affects the overall health and that would probably surprise many individuals. For most, the decline is progressive so they don’t always recognize there is an issue. As hearing declines, the human brain adapts gradually so it makes it less obvious.
We will be able to effectively assess your hearing health and track any changes as they occur with routine hearing exams.
Using hearing aids to decrease the danger
Scientists currently think that the relationship between dementia and hearing loss has a lot to do with the brain stress that hearing loss produces. So hearing aids should be able to reduce the risk, based on that fact. A hearing assistance device amplifies sound while filtering out background noise that impedes your hearing and alleviates the stress on your brain. The sounds that you’re hearing will get through without as much effort.
People who have normal hearing can still possibly develop dementia. What science believes is that hearing loss accelerates the decline in the brain, raising the chances of cognitive issues. The key to decreasing that risk is regular hearing exams to diagnose and treat gradual hearing loss before it can have an impact on brain health.
Contact us today to schedule an appointment for a hearing test if you’re worried that you may be coping with hearing loss.
