While some hearing loss is to be expected with aging, it is not necessarily a given fact that all seniors, with time, will lose some or all of their hearing. Far from it, in fact. By following guidelines from your healthcare provider regarding noise exposure, and having your hearing checked regularly, it is quite possible to retain good hearing well into your twilight years.
This is fortunate news, as an unexpected link between hearing loss and the development of dementia has been discovered. A startling 10% of all cases of dementia are caused by untreated hearing loss. Researchers from the Newcastle University in the United Kingdom have been studying this connection for years. Research shows that certain underlying conditions can cause both hearing loss and dementia, but in many cases the hearing loss directly raises the risk of dementia.
For better understanding of the relationship, and what to do to prevent it, researchers are exploring several different possibilities. One is that hearing loss increases abnormal proteins in the brain. The area of the brain that is most associated with long term memory is also an important area for processing sounds. This is also the part of the brain where Alzheimer’s typically begins. Changes in brain activity due to hearing loss may directly promote the presence of abnormal proteins that cause Alzheimer’s disease, which therefore triggers the onset.
Another problem is that hearing loss accelerates the age-related shrinking of the brain. It is normal for the brain to become smaller in size as we grow older. However, the shrinking seems to be accelerated in those adults with hearing loss. MRIs showed that people with poor hearing had smaller amounts of brain matter in the area that processes speech. It seems that your hearing acuity has a cascading effect on other various areas of cognitive function.
Hearing problems also add to the brain’s “cognitive load”. Life is much more difficult when it takes struggle and effort to understand speech and other sounds. The strain of decoding and interpreting sounds over the years may overwhelm the brains of people with hearing loss, which can leave them more susceptible to contracting dementia. Even if your hearing loss is mild, the strain to your mental faculties increases considerably. The amount of effort it takes just perceiving and understanding what you’re hearing takes away from the ability to effectively store it in your memory.
Mental stimulation is one of the most important things for warding off dementia, and when you have hearing loss, it lessens your access to it. With hearing loss, you may find yourself missing out on many sound-related brain exercises, such as conversations, music, radio and TV programming, and more. This can also lead to depression, which harms your brain health as well. Hearing problems raise your risk of social isolation, which studies have found to be just as harmful to our brains as smoking or obesity.
The good thing is that hearing loss is one risk factor that we can do something about. Have regular hearing tests, and report any problems or changes in hearing to your doctor right away.