Chris has been a bit forgetful lately. For two months in a row, she forgot her doctor’s appointment and has to reschedule. And she even overlooked running the dishwasher before bedtime (looks as if she’ll be handwashing her coffee cup this morning). Things have been falling through the cracks. Chris has been feeling mentally exhausted and depleted all the time but, strangely, she doesn’t feel forgetful.
It can be hard to recognize that feeling until it’s sneaking up on you. But in spite of how forgetful you might feel, the problem isn’t actually about memory. The real problem is your hearing. And that means there’s one little device, a hearing aid, that can assist you to substantially improve your memory.
How to Enhance Your Memory And Overall Cognitive Function
So, step one to improving your memory, and getting everyone’s name right at your next meeting or to make sure you arrange that day off for your eye exam, is to have your hearing tested. If you have hearing loss a hearing test will let you know how bad your impairment is.
Chris hasn’t detected any signs of hearing loss yet so she hesitates to schedule an appointment. She can hear in crowded rooms fairly well enough. And she’s never had a hard time listening to any of her team members at work.
But she might have some level of hearing loss even though she hasn’t noticed any symptoms yet. As a matter of fact, memory loss is frequently one of the very first detectable symptoms of hearing loss. And strain on the brain is the base cause. This is how it works:
- Your hearing starts to fade, perhaps so gradually you don’t realize.
- However slight, your ears start to detect a lack of sound input.
- Your brain begins working a little harder to interpret and boost the sounds you can hear.
- You can’t notice any real difference but in order to make sense of sound your brain has to work extra hard.
Your brain only has a limited amount of processing power which can really be dragged down by that kind of burden. So you don’t have as much mental energy for things such as, well, memory or for other cognitive processes.
Dementia And Hearing Loss
When loss of memory is extreme, the result could be dementia. And dementia and hearing loss do have a connection, though there are a number of other factors at work and the cause and effect relationship continues to be rather uncertain. Still, there is a higher danger of cognitive decline in individuals who have untreated hearing loss, starting with some moderate memory loss and increasing to more extreme cognitive issues.
Hearing Aids And Fending Off Fatigue
That’s the reason why managing your hearing loss is essential. Significant improvement of cognitive function was noted in 97.3% of individuals with hearing loss who wore hearing aids for at least 18 months according to one study.
Similar results have been seen in several other studies. It’s unquestionably helpful to wear hearing aids. When your brain doesn’t have to work quite as hard, your total cognitive function improves. Sure, a hearing aid isn’t an absolute cure, memory problems and cognitive decline can be a complex mixture of factors and variables.
The First Sign of Hearing Loss is Often Memory Loss
This sort of memory loss is commonly not permanent, it’s an indication of exhaustion more than an underlying change in the way your brain operates. But that can change if the underlying problems remain un-addressed.
Loss of memory, then, can be somewhat of an early warning system. When you first begin to detect those symptoms, you should schedule an appointment with your hearing professional. As soon as your fundamental hearing issues are addressed, your memory should go back to normal.
And your hearing will most likely improve also. The decline in your hearing will be slowed considerably by wearing hearing aids. These little devices, in this way, will enhance your general health not just your hearing.