Did you turn the TV up last night? If you did, it could be a sign of hearing loss. But you can’t quite remember and that’s a problem. And that’s been happening more often, also. While you were working yesterday, you couldn’t even remember your new co-worker’s name. Yes, you just met her but your hearing and your memory seem to be declining. And as you think about it, you can only formulate one common cause: aging.
Now, sure, age can be connected to both hearing loss and memory malfunction. But it turns out these two age-associated symptoms are also connected to one another. That may sound like bad news initially (not only do you have to deal with hearing loss, you have to work around your failing memory too, wonderful). But the reality is, the relationship between memory and hearing loss can often be a blessing in disguise.
Memory And Hearing Loss – What’s The Connection?
Your brain begins to get strained from hearing loss before you even realize you have it. Your brain, memory, and even social life can, over time, be overwhelmed by the “spillover”.
How does a deficiency of your hearing affect so much of your brain? There are several ways:
- Constant strain: Your brain will undergo a hyper-activation fatigue, particularly in the early stages of hearing loss. This occurs because, even though there’s no actual input signal, your brain struggles to hear what’s taking place in the world (it puts in a lot of energy trying to hear because without realizing you have hearing loss, it thinks that everything is quiet). This can leave your brain (and your body) feeling exhausted. That mental and physical exhaustion often results in memory loss.
- Social isolation: Communication will become strained when you have a hard time hearing. Social isolation will frequently be the consequence, And isolation can lead to memory issues because, once again, your brain isn’t getting as much interaction as it once did. When those (metaphorical) muscles aren’t engaged, they start to deteriorate. Social isolation, depression, and memory issues will, over time, set in.
- It’s getting quieter: As your hearing starts to waver, you’re going to experience more quietness (this is particularly true if your hearing loss is neglected). For the regions of your brain that interprets sound, this can be rather dull. This boredom may not seem like a serious issue, but lack of use can actually cause portions of your brain to atrophy or weaken. That can cause a certain amount of overall stress, which can impact your memory.
Your Body Has An Early Warning System – It’s Called Memory Loss
Memory loss isn’t unique to hearing loss, naturally. There are lots of things that can cause your memories to start getting fuzzy, such as illness or fatigue (either physical or mental forms). As an example, eating healthy and sleeping well can help help your memory.
Consequently, memory is sort of like the canary in the coal mine for your body. Your brain begins to raise red flags when things aren’t working precisely. And one of those red flags is forgetting what your friend said yesterday.
But these warnings can help you know when things are beginning to go wrong with your hearing.
Hearing Loss is Often Related to Memory Loss
The symptoms and signs of hearing loss can often be difficult to notice. Hearing loss is one of those slowly advancing conditions. Damage to your hearing is commonly worse than you would want by the time you actually notice the symptoms. However, if you begin to notice symptoms associated with memory loss and get an exam early, there’s a good chance you can avoid some damage to your hearing.
Retrieving Your Memory
In situations where hearing loss has impacted your memory, either via mental fatigue or social separation, treatment of your underlying hearing issue is step one in treatment. The brain will be able to get back to its regular activity when it stops stressing and overworking. It can take several months for your brain to get used to hearing again, so be patient.
Memory loss can be a practical warning that you need to pay attention to the state of your hearing and safeguarding your ears. As the years begin to add up, that’s certainly a lesson worth remembering.
