What’s the difference between ‘buying hearing aids’ and ‘treating hearing loss’? If you work with audiologists like ours, the difference is huge.
Buying hearing aids means purchasing devices that amplify sound and hoping they allow you to hear better.
Treating hearing loss entails identifying the many subtle ways hearing loss
affects your life, including physical safety, social isolation, and potential cognitive impairment. It is the number one way to take control of your brain health, and it requires monitoring changes to your hearing, as well as your cognition, and making changes to your hearing prescription regularly.
Did you know that more people in all generations are concerned about Alzheimer’s disease than other
more common diseases? Monitoring your cognitive abilities has become a critical part of healthcare and aging well.
In this issue, Dr. Kimberly Hart has written a compelling article about the connection between hearing loss and cognitive decline. Also included is a quiz you can take to see if you have any initial symptoms of either.
We care about our patients - their bodies, ears AND brains!
Diseases most people are worried about by age:
Sincerely, Whitney Swander, Au.D Owner, Doctor of Audiology
P.S. Happy Thanksgiving! We are very thankful this year to have so
many loved ones in our lives. We are thankful to be growing as a company because of our supportive patients and friends, like you!
Hearing loss & cognitive decline. Is there a link?
The easy, overwhelming answer supported by research is, yes, there is a link. At Hearing HealthCare Centers, we like to remind patients that we hear with our brains, not our ears.
"Our ears are just the funnel to get the sound to the brain"
Age-related hearing loss is a progressive degenerative disorder resulting in the loss of receptor cells in the ear. Consequently, there is a significant reduction in the number and quality of the neural connections into the brain. I like to think of hearing loss much like having your arm in a sling. The loss of use can result in atrophy. The pathway from the ear to the brain has been shown to atrophy (shrink) when not properly stimulated. Although we are unsure at this time if hearing loss causes dementia, we do know, based upon multiple studies, that treating hearing loss is the
number one most modifiable thing you can do to prevent and slow the devastating effects. Not only does hearing loss create communication barriers, but there have also been many studies released recently linking hearing loss to cognitive decline. In a recent study by Johns Hopkins, they tracked 639 adults for almost 12 years. Frank Lin M.D., Ph.D., and
his colleagues found that mild untreated hearing loss more than doubled the risk of dementia. Moderate loss tripled the risk and people with severe hearing impairment were five times more likely to develop dementia. According to The Hidden Risks of Hearing Loss, Dr. Lin finds ”A lot of people ignore hearing loss because it’s such a slow and insidious process as we age. Even if people feel as if they are not affected, we’re showing that it may well be a more serious problem."
So exactly how big could this problem become for society?
According to How Does Hearing Loss Affect the Brain, by Wingfield and Peele, 40-50%
of adults over the age of 65 years of age have a measurable hearing impairment, with this figure rising to 83% of those over 70. This makes hearing loss the third most prevalent chronic medical condition among older adults, after arthritis and hypertension. According to the World Health Organization over 1 billion young adults are at risk of permanent, avoidable hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices. These statistics are staggering when coupled with the increased risk for dementia and cognitive impairment. Many of the research studies
point to increased cognitive load as one of the key factors. The research about the relationship between untreated hearing loss and cognitive decline goes on and on, but the key is to do something about it!
So what can you do?
1. Monitor hearing for changes with regular hearing evaluations. 2. Treat hearing loss as soon as you notice problems like asking for repetition or feeling like people mumble. 3. Have routine cognitive screenings, like Cognivue™, to monitor any changes in cognition. Cognivue is available in our offices and is part of our comprehensive hearing care. 4. Answer the questions below to see if you might be at risk of hearing or cognitive issues.
Cognitive Health Quiz
Often bump into things?
Have difficulty finding the words that you want to use
Forget important birthdays or anniversaries?
Misplace things and forget where you put them?
Feel fatigued during or at the end of the day?
Have to put in more effort than usual to hear well?
Use visual cues and closed captioning to help you hear better?
If you answered yes to any of these, take control of your brain health today. Call us for a hearing evaluation and a cognitive screening!
303-558-5811
Our patients are excited too!
Testimonial from Kacy Hooten, Au.D.
"I have one patient who is very motivated to improve her cognition while treating her hearing loss. She did a screening before treatment then again after 60 days. She begged me to do it a 3rd time because she can tell what a difference her hearing aids have made in helping her cognition. From her first test to her last, she went from an "at risk" score in eachmeasured condition to testing totally within the normal range!"
