Are you forgetting something? It isn’t your imagination. Remembering day-to-day things is getting harder and harder. Once you become aware of it, loss of memory seems to advance quickly. It becomes more debilitating the more you become aware of it. Did you know memory loss is connected to hearing loss?
And no, this isn’t simply a natural part of getting older. There’s always an underlying reason for the loss of the ability to process memories.
Neglected hearing loss is frequently that reason. Is your ability to remember being impacted by hearing loss? By discovering the cause of your loss of memory, you can take steps to slow its development considerably and, in many instances, bring your memory back.
Here are a few facts to think about.
How memory loss can be triggered by untreated hearing loss
They aren’t unrelated. As a matter of fact, researchers have found that those with untreated hearing loss are 24% more likely to experience dementia, Alzheimer’s, or other extreme cognitive issues.
The reasons for this higher risk are multi-fold.
Mental exhaustion
Initially, the brain will have to work harder to overcome hearing loss. You have to make an effort to hear things. While this came naturally in the past, it’s now something your mind has to strain to process.
You begin to use your deductive reasoning skills. When trying to hear, you remove the unlikely choices to figure out what someone most likely said.
Your brain is under extra strain because of this. It’s especially stressful when your deductive reasoning skills lead you astray. The outcome of this can be misconceptions, embarrassment, and sometimes even resentment.
Stress has a huge effect on how we process memory. Mental resources that we should be utilizing for memory get tied up when we’re suffering from stress.
As the hearing loss worsens, something new occurs.
Feeling older
You can begin to “feel older” than you are when you’re constantly asking people to repeat what they said and straining to hear. This can start a downhill spiral in which thoughts of “getting old” when you’re actually not become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Social solitude
We’ve all heard the trope of somebody who’s so lonely that they start to lose touch with reality. Human beings are meant to be social. When they’re never with other people, even introverts have a hard time.
A person with disregarded hearing loss slowly becomes secluded. It’s more difficult to talk on the phone. Social get-togethers are less enjoyable because you need to ask people to repeat what they said. Friends and family start to exclude you from conversations. Even when you’re in a room with a lot of people, you might space out and feel secluded. The radio might not even be there to keep you company after a while.
It’s just easier to spend more time by yourself. You feel older than others your age and don’t feel like you can relate to them anymore.
When your brain isn’t regularly stimulated it becomes hard to process new information.
Brain atrophy
As someone with neglected hearing loss begins to isolate themselves either physically or just mentally, a chain reaction starts in the brain. There’s no more stimulation reaching parts of the brain. They quit functioning.
There’s a high degree of interconnectivity between the various regions of the brain. Hearing is linked to speech, memory, learning, problem-solving, and other skills.
There will usually be a gradual spread of this functional atrophy to other brain functions, like hearing, which is also connected to memory.
It’s just like the legs of a bedridden person. When they’re sick in bed for a long time, leg muscles become really weak. They could quit working entirely. They may need to have physical therapy to learn to walk again.
But the brain is different. Once it starts down this slippery slope, it’s hard to reverse the damage. Shrinkage actually happens to the brain. Brain Scans show this shrinkage.
How memory loss can be stopped by hearing aids
If you’re reading this, then you’re probably still in the beginning stages of memory loss. It might be barely noticeable. It isn’t the hearing loss itself that is contributing to memory loss, and that’s the good news.
It’s the fact that the hearing loss is neglected.
Studies have shown that people that have hearing loss who regularly wear their hearing aid have the same chance of developing memory loss as someone of the same age with healthy hearing. The advancement of memory loss was slowed in individuals who started wearing their hearing aids after experiencing symptoms.
Stay connected and active as you age. If you want to keep your memory intact you should understand that it’s closely linked to hearing loss. Don’t disregard your hearing health. Have your hearing evaluated. And if there’s any reason you aren’t wearing your hearing aid, please talk to us about solutions – we can help!
