What’s the link between hearing loss and cognitive decline? Brain health and hearing loss have a connection which medical science is starting to understand. It was found that even mild untreated hearing impairment raises your risk of developing dementia.
These two seemingly unconnected health disorders could have a pathological link. So how can a hearing test help reduce the risk of hearing loss related dementia?
What is dementia?
Dementia is a condition that reduces memory ability, thinking, and socialization skills, as reported by the Mayo Clinic. Alzheimer’s is a common type of cognitive decline the majority of individuals think of when they hear the word dementia. About five million people in the US are impacted by this progressive kind of dementia. Precisely how hearing health effects the risk of dementia is finally well understood by scientists.
How hearing works
The ear components are quite complex and each one is important in relation to good hearing. As waves of sound vibration move towards the inner ear, they’re amplified. Inside the labyrinth of the inner ear, little hair cells vibrate in response to the sound waves to transmit electrical signals that the brain translates.
Over time, many individuals develop a slow decline in their ability to hear because of years of trauma to these delicate hair cells. Comprehension of sound becomes much harder due to the decrease of electrical signals to the brain.
Research suggests that this gradual loss of hearing isn’t only an irrelevant part of aging. The brain attempts to decode any messages sent by the ear even if they are jumbled or unclear. The ears can become strained and the brain fatigued from the added effort to hear and this can ultimately result in a higher risk of developing cognitive decline.
Here are several disease risk factors with hearing loss in common:
- Depression
- Impaired memory
- Irritability
- Reduction in alertness
- Exhaustion
- Trouble learning new skills
- Overall diminished health
The likelihood of developing dementia can increase depending on the severity of your hearing loss, too. Even mild hearing loss can double the risk of dementia. More advanced hearing loss means three times the danger and somebody with severe, untreated loss of hearing has up to five times the odds of developing cognitive decline. The cognitive skills of more than 2,000 older adults were studied by Johns Hopkins University over six years. Cognitive and memory problems are 24 percent more likely in people who have hearing loss severe enough to disrupt conversation, according to this study.
Why is a hearing assessment worthwhile?
Not everyone realizes how even minor hearing loss impacts their general health. Most people don’t even know they have hearing loss because it develops so slowly. As hearing declines, the human brain adjusts gradually so it makes it less obvious.
Scheduling regular thorough assessments gives you and your hearing specialist the ability to effectively evaluate hearing health and observe any decline as it occurs.
Minimizing the risk with hearing aids
The present hypothesis is that strain on the brain from hearing loss plays a big role in cognitive decline and different kinds of dementia. So hearing aids should be capable of decreasing the risk, based on that fact. A hearing assistance device amplifies sound while filtering out background noise that impedes your hearing and relieves the stress on your brain. With a hearing aid, the brain will not work as hard to understand the sounds it’s getting.
There’s no rule that says people who have normal hearing won’t end up with dementia. What science believes is that hearing loss speeds up the decline in the brain, increasing the risk of cognitive problems. Having routine hearing tests to detect and manage hearing loss before it gets too extreme is key to decreasing that risk.
If you’re worried that you may be suffering from hearing loss, contact us today to schedule your hearing assessment.