What’s the link between hearing loss and dementia? Medical science has connected the dots between brain health and hearing loss. Your risk of getting dementia is higher with even mild hearing loss, as it turns out.
Experts believe that there might be a pathological connection between these two seemingly unrelated health issues. So how can a hearing test help minimize the risk of hearing loss related dementia?
What is dementia?
The Mayo Clinic says that dementia is a group of symptoms that alter memory, alter the ability to think clearly, and decrease socialization skills. Individuals often think of Alzheimer’s disease when they hear dementia probably because it is a prevalent form. Around five million people in the US are impacted by this progressive kind of dementia. Exactly how hearing health effects the risk of dementia is finally well understood by scientists.
How hearing works
When it comes to good hearing, every part of the complex ear mechanism matters. As waves of sound vibration move towards the inner ear, they’re amplified. Electrical impulses are sent to the brain for decoding by tiny little hairs in the inner ear that vibrate in response to sound waves.
Over time, many people develop a gradual decline in their ability to hear because of years of damage 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 regarded as a normal and inconsequential part of the aging process, but research shows that’s not the case. The brain tries to decode any signals sent by the ear even if they are jumbled or unclear. That effort puts strain on the ear, making the individual struggling to hear more susceptible to developing dementia.
Here are several disease risk factors that have hearing loss in common:
- Reduction in alertness
- Memory impairment
- Irritability
- Overall diminished health
- Trouble learning new skills
- Depression
- Exhaustion
The odds of developing cognitive decline can increase based on the degree of your hearing loss, also. Even mild hearing loss can double the risk of cognitive decline. More advanced hearing loss means three times the risk and someone with severe, neglected loss of hearing has up to five times the odds of developing dementia. The cognitive skills of more than 2,000 older adults were observed by Johns Hopkins University over six years. Memory and cognitive problems are 24 percent more likely in individuals who have hearing loss significant enough to disrupt conversation, according to this research.
Why is a hearing test important?
Not everyone appreciates how even minor hearing loss affects their overall health. Most individuals don’t even know they have hearing loss because it progresses so gradually. The human brain is good at adjusting as hearing declines, so it is not so obvious.
Scheduling routine comprehensive assessments gives you and your hearing specialist the ability to effectively evaluate hearing health and observe any decline as it occurs.
Using hearing aids to decrease the danger
Scientists presently believe that the connection between cognitive decline and hearing loss is largely based on the brain strain that hearing loss produces. 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 interferes with your hearing and eases the strain on your brain. With a hearing aid, the brain won’t work as hard to comprehend the sounds it’s receiving.
People who have normal hearing can still possibly develop dementia. But scientists believe hearing loss accelerates that decline. Getting routine hearing exams to identify and manage hearing loss before it gets too serious is key to reducing that risk.
If you’re worried that you may be dealing with hearing loss, call us today to schedule your hearing examination.