Make no mistake: Keeping your mind sharp and preventing cognitive conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s can be accomplished in numerous ways. Social engagement and participation in the workforce are among the most notable. Whatever methods are used to deal with cognitive decline, however, keeping your hearing strong and using hearing aids if you need them will be extremely helpful.
These conditions, according to many studies, are often directly linked to hearing loss. This article will outline the link between cognitive decline and hearing loss and how wearing hearing aids can decrease the probability of these conditions becoming an imminent problem.
How Hearing Loss Contributes to Cognitive Decline
Scientists at Johns Hopkins have conducted several studies over the years to determine the connection between cognitive decline and hearing loss. The same story was revealed by each study: cognitive decline was more prevalent with individuals who experience hearing loss. One study revealed, in fact, that there was a 24% higher instance of Alzheimer’s in people who have diminished hearing.
Even though dementia isn’t specifically caused by hearing loss there is definitely a connection. The primary theories suggest that your brain has to work overtime when you can’t properly process sounds. That means that activities like cognition and memory, which demand more energy, can’t function efficiently because your brain has to use so much of that energy on more simple tasks.
Your mental health can also be significantly impacted by hearing loss. Research has shown that hearing loss is linked to anxiety, depression, and might even influence schizophrenia. All of these disorders also produce cognitive decline – as noted above, one of the best ways to maintain your mental acuity is to remain socially active. In many examples, hearing loss causes individuals to feel self-conscious around others, which means they’ll turn to seclusion instead. The mental problems listed above are frequently the result of the lack of human interaction and can ultimately lead to serious cognitive decline.
How a Hearing Aid Can Help You Keep Your Resolution
One of the best resources we have to fight dementia and other cognitive conditions like Alzheimer’s is hearing aids. Unfortunately, most people who need hearing aids don’t use them. It may be a stigma or a previous negative experience that keeps people using hearing aids, but in fact, hearing aids have been proven to help people maintain their cognitive function by helping them hear better.
There are circumstances where specific sounds will have to be relearned because they’ve been forgotten after prolonged hearing damage. It’s essential to help your brain go back to processing more important tasks and hearing aids can do just that by preventing this problem in the first place and helping you relearn any sounds the brain has forgotten.
If you want to find out what options are available to help you begin hearing better get in touch with us.