Hearing loss is thought of as a normal part of getting older: we begin to hear things less intelligibly as we grow older. Perhaps we need to keep asking the grandkids to speak up when they talk, or we have to turn the volume up on the TV, or maybe…we begin to…what was I going to say…oh yes. Maybe we start to lose our memory.
Memory loss is also often thought to be a normal part of aging as dementia and Alzheimer’s are far more common in the senior citizen population than the general population at large. But what if the two were somehow connected? And what if you could treat your hearing loss while taking care of your mental health and protecting your memories?
Cognitive Decline And Hearing Loss
With nearly 30 million individuals in the United States suffering from hearing loss, cognitive decline and dementia, for the majority of them, isn’t linked to hearing loss. However, if you look in the right place, the link is very clear: research has shown that there is a significant chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia-like ailments if you also suffer from hearing loss – even if you have fairly mild hearing loss.
Mental health problems such as depression and anxiety are also pretty prevalent in people who have hearing loss. Your ability to socialize can be significantly impacted by hearing loss, cognitive decline, and other mental health problems and that’s the real key here.
Why Does Hearing Loss Impact Cognitive Decline?
While there is no concrete finding or definitive evidence that hearing loss results in cognitive decline and mental health problems, there is obviously some link and several clues that experts are looking at. They have identified two main situations which appear to lead to problems: failure to socialize and your brain working overtime.
Many studies show that loneliness results in depression and anxiety. And people are less likely to socialize when they suffer from hearing loss. Lots of people can’t enjoy things like attending a movie because they find it too hard to hear the dialog. People who are in this scenario often begin to isolate themselves which can result in mental health issues.
researchers have also discovered that the brain frequently has to work overtime because the ears are not working normally. When this occurs, other parts of the brain, such as the one used for memory, are diverted for hearing and understanding sound. This overtaxes the brain and causes cognitive decline to set in much quicker than if the brain could process sounds correctly.
How to Avoid Cognitive Decline Using Hearing Aids
Hearing aids are our first line of defense against cognitive decline, mental health issues, and dementia. Research has shown that people improved their cognitive functions and were at a lower chances for developing dementia when they used hearing aids to deal with their hearing loss.
As a matter of fact, if more people wore their hearing aids, we might see reduced cases of mental health issues and cognitive decline. Between 15% and 30% of people who need hearing aids even use them, that’s 4.5 to 9 million people. The World Health Organization estimates that there are nearly 50 million people who deal with some kind of dementia. If hearing aids can reduce that number by even just a couple of million people, the quality of life for many people and families will improve exponentially.
