What’s the link between hearing loss and dementia? Brain health and hearing loss have a connection which medical science is starting to understand. It was discovered that even minor neglected hearing impairment increases your risk of developing dementia.
These two seemingly unrelated health disorders could have a pathological link. So, how does loss of hearing put you in danger of dementia and how can a hearing test help fight it?
Dementia, what is it?
Dementia is a condition that diminishes memory ability, clear thinking, and socialization skills, as reported by the Mayo Clinic. Alzheimer’s is a prevalent type of cognitive decline the majority of people think of when they hear the word dementia. Around five million people in the US are impacted by this progressive form of dementia. Today, medical science has a complete understanding of how ear health alters the danger of dementias like Alzheimer’s disease.
How hearing works
When it comes to good hearing, every part of the complex ear mechanism matters. As waves of sound vibration travel towards the inner ear, they’re amplified. Inside the labyrinth of the inner ear, little hair cells shake in response to the sound waves to transmit electrical impulses that the brain translates.
Over the years these little hairs can become permanently damaged from exposure to loud sound. Comprehension of sound becomes a lot harder due to the reduction of electrical impulses to the brain.
Research reveals that this gradual loss of hearing isn’t just an inconsequential part of aging. The brain attempts to decode any messages sent by the ear even if they are garbled or unclear. That effort puts strain on the ear, making the person struggling to hear more vulnerable to developing cognitive decline.
Here are a few disease risk factors with hearing loss in common:
- Inability to master new tasks
- Overall diminished health
- Reduction in alertness
- Irritability
- Memory impairment
- Exhaustion
- Depression
The likelihood of developing cognitive decline can increase depending on the extent 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 very severe untreated hearing loss can put you at up to a five times higher danger. Research by Johns Hopkins University monitored the cognitive skills of more than 2,000 older adults over a six-year period. They found 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 test worthwhile?
Hearing loss affects the general health and that would most likely surprise many people. For most people, the decline is slow so they don’t always realize there is a problem. The human brain is good at adapting as hearing declines, so it’s less obvious.
Scheduling regular thorough exams gives you and your hearing specialist the ability to properly assess hearing health and track any decline as it happens.
Using hearing aids to reduce the risk
Scientists presently think that the link between cognitive decline and hearing loss has a lot to do with the brain stress that hearing loss causes. So hearing aids should be capable of decreasing the risk, based on that fact. The stress on your brain will be decreased by using a hearing aid to filter out undesirable background noise while boosting sounds you want to hear. The sounds that you’re hearing will get through without as much effort.
There is no rule that says individuals who have normal hearing won’t develop dementia. What science thinks is that hearing loss quickens the decline in the brain, raising the chances of cognitive problems. The key to decreasing that risk is regular hearing tests to diagnose and manage gradual hearing loss before it can have an affect on brain health.
If you’re worried that you might be suffering from hearing loss, contact us today to schedule your hearing evaluation.
