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Is Hearing Loss a Sign of Dementia?

January 2, 2018
Categories
  • FAQ
  • Hearing Health and Lifestyle
Tags
  • dementia
  • hearing health
  • hearing loss

Some Baby Boomers may address their hearing with a series of simple questions:

  • Can I hear my children when they call me on the phone? Yes.
  • Can I hear the television? Check.
  • Are my ears causing me discomfort (i.e. ringing, pain)? Nope.

And that’s an adequate “test” for some Americans aged 60 and older. No harm. No foul. No formal assessment from a team of health care professionals.

However, Baby Boomers must take the possibility of hearing loss seriously. Why? Well, hearing loss may be linked to more than your ability to hear. It may be connected to your ability to think.

Dementia and hearing loss – what the research shows

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, hearing loss may increase your risk of cognitive problems and even dementia, a condition marked by memory loss and trouble with thinking, problem-solving and other mental tasks.

Gradual hearing loss is a common symptom of aging, but a study from researchers at Trinity College Dublin suggests that age-related hearing loss is associated with cognitive decline and dementia. The risk of impairment of hearing, vision and other senses increases with age, and almost 15 percent of individuals age 70 and older have dementia.

How can you protect your brain’s health?

One in three cases of dementia could be prevented by addressing important lifestyle factors, including taking actions to avoid hypertension, hearing loss, diabetes, depression and obesity, according to a report from the Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention and Care. By taking steps to address lifestyle factors early on, the incidence of dementia could be reduced by as much as 20 percent.

Social engagement is one of the activities that protects brain health. If you suffer from hearing loss, you may miss out on more than just conversations. If your ears can no longer pick up on as many sounds, your hearing nerves will send fewer signals to your brain. As a result, your chances for mental decline seem to go up the worse your hearing is. When you strain to hear, your brain experiences cognitive overload, and works harder to decipher what people are saying. It doesn’t have the time to put the information into your memory bank. As areas of your brain go unused, they shrink or get taken over for other duties—and that means less resources for tasks like memory.

It is often hard to separate the signs of hearing loss from those of dementia, and often one condition may mimic the other. Like any medical condition, the sooner you seek treatment, the better your outcome will be. Because hearing loss often occurs gradually, it can be difficult to recognize when you have it. The only way to know for sure is to get your hearing checked.

Get Your Hearing Assessment*

A hearing assessment* begins with a hearing care provider asking routine questions. The testing is easy and painless, taking about 30 minutes. (Allow 60 minutes for a typical appointment.) The visit may include four parts:

  • An otoscopy, which is an ear exam conducted by a hearing care provider using an otoscope to look at the three parts of the ear. He/she will use an otoscope, an instrument that features a light bulb, magnifying lens and a cone that is inserted into the ear canal.
  • Baseline hearing assessment, which determines the severity of future hearing loss and will dictate a specific course of action to address the damage. The baseline hearing assessment can determine which type of hearing loss you may have.
  • Speech understanding assessment, which indicates how well you can understand speech in a noisy environment.
  • Familiar voice test, which requires one of your family members to attend the appointment. Your family member will step outside the room (about eight feet away) and pronounce a series of words. Then, the test will be repeated with different words from 12 to 15 feet away.

Preserve Memory, Brain Function for Baby Boomers

If your hearing assessment reveals a hearing loss, you aren’t alone. Nearly half of Baby Boomers have a form of hearing loss—but there is hope. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 28.8 million U.S. adults can benefit from using a hearing aid.

A study conducted at Columbia University Medical Center found that using a hearing aid may offer a simple, yet important, way to prevent or slow the development of dementia by keeping adults with hearing loss engaged in conversation and communication.

Next steps in addressing hearing loss and dementia

Since hearing loss can impact memory and other aspects of brain function, it is important to have a hearing assessment.* Schedule yours today by calling 866-837-8286 (866-TEST-AT-60), or by visiting campaignforbetterhearing.us.

For more information on hearing loss and dementia, you can download a white paper from Campaign for Better Hearing’s friends at HearingLife.

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© 2023 The National Campaign for Better Hearing. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy

The purpose of this hearing assessment and/or demonstration is for hearing wellness and to determine if the consumer may benefit from using hearing aids, which may include selling and fitting hearing aids. Products demonstrated may differ from products sold. Assessment conclusion is not a medical diagnosis and further testing may be required to diagnose hearing loss. The use of any hearing aid may not fully restore normal hearing and does not prevent future hearing loss. Hearing instruments may not meet the needs of all hearing-impaired individuals. One offer per consumer and offer cannot be combined with any of our promotional offers, coupons or discounts. Offer not available to any consumer who has private or federal health insurance coverage. Other terms may apply, see office for details.

Please note: Complimentary hearing assessment is not valid at the following locations: | Anderson Audiology, a HearingLife Company, 2642 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway, Suite A-11, Henderson, NV 89052 | Anderson Audiology, 193 North Pecos Road, Suite #110, Henderson, NV 89074 | Anderson Audiology, 6475 N. Decatur Boulevard, Suite 125, Las Vegas, NV 89131 | Anderson Audiology, 9430 W. Lake Mead Boulevard, Suite 11, Las Vegas, NV 89134 | Anderson Audiology, 3120 S. Rainbow Boulevard, Suite 202, Las Vegas, NV 89146 | Audiology Professionals, Inc., 1600 Valley River Drive, Suite 395, Eugene, OR 97401 | COLORADOHearing, a HearingLife Company, 3030 North Circle Drive, Suite 300, Colorado Springs, CO 80909 | COLORADOHearing, a HearingLife Company, 6031 E. Woodmen Road, Suite 300, Colorado Springs, CO 80923 | Feehan Hearing Center, 22 Morgan Farms Drive, Suite 5, South Windsor, CT 06074 | Francis Audiology, 7000 Stonewood Drive, Suite 210, Wexford, PA 15090 | Hearing Services of Delaware, Inc., 99 Wolf Creek Boulevard, Suite 3, Dover, DE 19901 | Hearing Services of Delaware, Inc., 28 Peoples Plaza, Newark, DE 19702 | Hearing Services of Delaware, Inc., 104 Sleepy Hollow Drive, Suite 202, Middletown, DE 19709 | Hearing, Balance & Speech Center, 11 Harrison Avenue, Branford, CT 06405 | Hearing, Balance & Speech Center, 171 Grandview Ave., Suite 203, Waterbury, CT 06708 | HearingLife, 6262 E. Broadway Road, Suite 103, Mesa, AZ 85206 | HearingLife, 1632 Savannah Road, Suite 3, Lewes, DE 19958 | HearingLife, 3754 Highway 90, Suite 350, Pace, FL 32571 | HearingLife, 5147 North 9th Avenue, Suite 315, Pensacola, FL 32504 | HearingLife, 141 Mack Bayou Loop, Suite 202, Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459 | HearingLife, 100 East Northwood Street, Greensboro, NC 27401 | HearingLife, 5009 Southport Crossing Way, Suite 104, Southport, NC 28461 | HearingLife, 3909 Wrightsville Avenue, Suite #110, Wilmington, NC 28403 | HearingLife, 8986 Lorton Station Boulevard, Suite 201, Lorton, VA 22079 | HearingLife, 106 Shoppers Way, Unit 112, Brunswick, GA 31525 | HearingLife, 155 E. Cherry Street, Jesup, GA 31545 | HearingLife, 527 Stephenson Avenue, Suite A-3, Savannah, GA 31405 | HearingLife, 16741 Highway 67 South, Suite E, Statesboro, GA 30458 | Kenwood Hearing Center, 960 W. Wooster, Bowling Green, OH 43402 | Kenwood Hearing Center, 3450 W. Central Ave., Toledo, OH 43606 | Kenwood Hearing Center, 725 S. Shoop Ave., Wauseon, OH 43567 | Madison & Saratoga Hearing Center, 14 Columbia Circle Drive, Suite 202, Albany, NY 12203 | Madison & Saratoga Hearing Center, 81 Miller Road, Suite 700, East Greenbush, NY 12033 | Madison & Saratoga Hearing Center, 414 Maple Ave., Suite 800, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 | Metro Hearing, 13934 N. 59th Avenue #120, Glendale, AZ 85306 | Metro Hearing, 13657 W. McDowell Road #200, Goodyear, AZ 85395 | Metro Hearing, 4045 E. Bell Road #135, Phoenix, AZ 85032 | Metro Hearing, 11000 N. Scottsdale Road #165, Scottsdale, AZ 85254 | Metro Hearing, 13203 N. 103rd Drive J4, Sun City, AZ 85351 | Metro Hearing, 14506 W. Granite Valley Drive #117, Sun City West, AZ 85375 | Regional Hearing and Balance Center, 3345 Merlin Drive, Suite 200, Idaho Falls, ID 83404 | Regional Hearing and Balance Center, 256 N. 2nd E., Suite 3, Rexburg, ID 83440 | Regional Hearing and Balance Center, 685 S. Washington Street, Afton, WY 83110 | REM Audiology Associates, 1000 White Horse Road, Voorhees, NJ 08043 | REM Audiology Associates, 8100 Roosevelt Boulevard, Suite 103, Philadelphia, PA 19152 |