Make no mistake: there are a few ways that you can maintain your mental acuity and ward off disorders like dementia, cognitive decline, and Alzheimer’s disease. Social engagement and participation in the workforce are among the most significant. Whatever methods you employ to combat cognitive decline, however, keeping your hearing strong and wearing hearing aids if you need them will be immensely helpful.
Numerous studies show that the disorders listed above are all linked to neglected hearing loss. This article will outline the connection between cognitive decline and hearing loss and how using hearing aids can decrease the likelihood of these conditions becoming an imminent problem.
How Hearing Loss Contributes to Cognitive Decline
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have conducted several studies over the years to analyze the connection between hearing loss and cognitive decline. The same story was told by each study: cognitive decline was more common with people who suffer from hearing loss. In fact, one study showed that individuals with hearing loss were 24% more likely to develop Alzheimer’s than people with healthy hearing.
Though dementia isn’t specifically caused by hearing loss there is definitely a connection. When you can’t properly process sound your brain has to work overtime according to leading theories. That means your brain is using more valuable energy on relatively simple activities, leaving a lot less of that energy for more challenging processes like cognitive function and memory.
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. Remaining socially active, as mentioned, is the best way to safeguard your mental health and preserve your cognitive ability. Often, individuals who have hearing loss will turn to self isolation because they feel self conscious around other people. The mental problems mentioned above are frequently the outcome of the lack of human interaction and can inevitably produce serious cognitive decline.
Keeping Your Mental Faculties Acute With Hearing Aids
One of the best resources we have to combat dementia and other cognition conditions such as Alzheimer’s is hearing aids. Sadly, the majority of people who need hearing aids don’t wear them. It may be a stigma or a previous negative experience that keeps people wearing 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 extended hearing damage. It’s important to help your brain go back to processing more important tasks and hearing aids can do just that by stopping this problem in the first place and helping you relearn any sounds the brain has forgotten.
Get in touch with us today to discover what options are available to help you begin hearing better in this decade and beyond.