Make no mistake: Keeping your mind clear and preventing cognitive conditions including dementia and Alzheimer’s can be accomplished in numerous ways. Social engagement and involvement in the workforce are among the most significant. Regardless of the method, though, treating hearing loss through hearing aids makes these activities a great deal easier and contributes in its own way to battling cognitive problems.
Many studies show that the disorders listed above are all connected to neglected hearing loss. This article will outline the relationship between cognitive decline and hearing loss and how using hearing aids can minimize the probability of these conditions becoming an imminent issue.
The Relationship Between Hearing Loss And Cognitive Decline
The connection between hearing loss and cognitive decline has been studied several times over the years by scientists at Johns Hopkins. The same story was told by each study: cognitive decline was more prevalent with people who experience hearing loss. One study showed, in fact, that there was a 24% higher instance of Alzheimer’s in people who have diminished hearing.
Hearing loss alone does not cause dementia, but there is a connection between the two conditions. When you can’t effectively process sound your brain has to work overtime according to leading theories. That means your brain is spending more valuable energy on relatively simple activities, leaving a lot less of that energy for more challenging processes such as memory or cognitive functions.
Hearing loss can also have a significant impact on your mental health. Studies have shown that hearing loss is connected to depression, social isolation, anxiety, and may even affect schizophrenia. All of these disorders also produce cognitive decline – as mentioned above, one of the optimum ways to maintain your mental sharpness is to remain socially active. Frequently, individuals who have hearing loss will turn to self isolation because they feel self conscious around other people. The lack of human interaction can produce the other mental health problems listed above and eventually lead to cognitive impairments.
Keeping Your Mental Faculties Acute With Hearing Aids
One of the best resources we have to fight dementia and other cognitive conditions such as Alzheimer’s is hearing aids. The problem is that only one in seven of the millions of people 50 or older who deal with hearing impairment actually use a hearing aid. It could be a stigma or a previous bad experience that keeps people wearing hearing aids, but in fact, hearing aids have been shown to help people maintain their cognitive function by helping them hear better.
When your hearing is damaged for a prolonged amount of time, the brain could forget how to identify some everyday sounds and will need to learn them all over again. A hearing aid can either stop that scenario from occurring in the first place or help you relearn those sounds, which will allow your brain to focus on other, more important tasks.
Contact us right away to discover what options are available to help you begin hearing better in this decade and beyond.