What’s the link between hearing loss and cognitive decline? Brain health and hearing loss have a link which medical science is starting to comprehend. It was discovered that even mild untreated hearing impairment increases your risk of developing dementia.
Researchers believe that there may be a pathological link between these two seemingly unrelated health issues. So, how does hearing loss put you at risk for dementia and how can a hearing exam help combat it?
What is dementia?
The Mayo Clinic states that dementia is a cluster of symptoms that alter memory, alter the ability to think concisely, and decrease socialization skills. Alzheimer’s is a common type of cognitive decline most individuals think of when they hear the word dementia. Alzheimer’s means progressive dementia that impacts around five million people in the U.S. Today, medical science has a complete understanding of how ear health alters the risk of dementias like Alzheimer’s disease.
How hearing works
The ear components are extremely intricate and each one is important when it comes to good hearing. As waves of sound vibration move towards the inner ear, they’re amplified. Inside the maze of the inner ear, little hair cells vibrate in response to the sound waves to send electrical signals that the brain decodes.
Over time, many people develop a slow decline in their ability to hear due to years of damage to these fragile hair cells. The result is a decrease in the electrical signals to the brain that makes it harder to comprehend sound.
Research suggests that this gradual loss of hearing isn’t just an inconsequential part of aging. The brain attempts to decode any signals sent by the ear even if they are jumbled or unclear. The ears can become strained and the brain exhausted from the additional effort to hear and this can eventually result in a higher risk of developing dementia.
Here are several disease risk factors that have hearing loss in common:
- Reduction in alertness
- Overall diminished health
- Exhaustion
- Inability to master new tasks
- Depression
- Irritability
- Impaired memory
The odds of developing dementia can increase depending on the degree of your hearing loss, also. Even mild hearing loss can double the odds of dementia. Hearing loss that is more severe will bring the risk up by three times and extremely severe untreated hearing loss can put you at up to a five times higher risk. The cognitive skills of over 2,000 older adults were observed by Johns Hopkins University over six years. They found that hearing loss advanced enough to hinder conversation was 24 percent more likely to cause memory and cognitive issues.
Why is a hearing test worthwhile?
Hearing loss affects the general health and that would most likely surprise many people. Most people don’t even know they have hearing loss because it progresses so slowly. The human brain is good at adapting as hearing declines, so it’s less noticeable.
Scheduling regular comprehensive exams gives you and your hearing specialist the ability to correctly assess hearing health and observe any decline as it takes place.
Using hearing aids to reduce the danger
The current hypothesis is that strain on the brain from hearing loss plays a major role in cognitive decline and different forms of dementia. Based on that one fact, you might conclude that hearing aids reduce that risk. A hearing assistance device boosts sound while filtering out background noise that disrupts your hearing and eases the strain on your brain. The sounds that you’re hearing will get through without as much effort.
Individuals who have normal hearing can still possibly develop dementia. But scientists think hearing loss speeds up that decline. Getting regular hearing tests to identify and deal with hearing loss before it gets too extreme is key to reducing that risk.
If you’re concerned that you might be suffering from hearing loss, contact us today to schedule your hearing examination.
