Barry Yedvobnick / Trends in Health ————— Years ago, during a lively disagreement with my adult daughter, she told me I was “sad, lame and stinkin!” Well, that’s what I thought I heard. Turns out, she’d actually told me I was “sadly mistaken.”
That’s when I knew I had a hearing problem, and I’m not alone. Nearly 15 percent of Americans have hearing issues, and for those ages 65-74, it’s 33 percent. Worse still, about half of those 75 and older have Age Related Hearing Loss (ARHL).
As a teacher, my decision to get hearing aids was easy, because I started misunderstanding students’ questions. However, for legitimate reasons, many find this a difficult decision. Aids can be expensive, though lower-priced over the counter versions are now available.
Even for those who start using them, it can be hard to keep using them. The world suddenly gets a lot louder, including more road noise while driving a car. However, based on current research, it’s important for those with ARHL to use hearing aids, and sooner rather than later. What you don’t hear is just part of the problem.
Good hearing involves proper function of the ears, along with the processing of sounds within the brain. Unfortunately, long term hearing loss disrupts processing of sounds in the auditory (hearing) regions of the brain.
Changes to both the structure and function of these regions have been observed in ARHL patients. Therefore, a research team in Colorado tested if wearing hearing aids could reverse some of these brain changes. After six months with the aids, patient hearing improved significantly, and brain function was closer to that found in people with normal hearing. So beyond being able to hear better, aids can help restore function and potentially limit damage to auditory brain regions.
Additionally, there is a strong association between ARHL and cognitive impairment, indicating that hearing deficits affect other parts of the brain. Fortunately, recent research studies suggest that hearing aids help prevent these problems.
Research from Singapore, published this December, analyzed data from 31 previous ARHL studies, involving 138,000 participants. This type of study increases the reliability of conclusions derived from any single study. Beyond strengthening the link between ARHL and cognition, their analysis examined if patients using hearing aids lowered their risk for memory issues when compared to non-users. What they found was important and encouraging. Use of hearing aids was associated with a 19 percent reduction in risk.
Further, the benefit was observed for people who started the study with normal mental status, or for those who already suffered mild cognitive impairment. In fact, hearing aid use actually led to small improvements in cognitive test results.
Lumpkin County and Dahlonega are estimated to have over 2,000 and 400 residents, respectively, with some degree of age-related hearing loss.
Restoring this important sense with hearing aids is a possible way to prevent or slow down cognitive impairment, and its progression to dementia.
Do you suspect, or have you been told, that your hearing isn’t what it used to be? If so, it would be wise to get tested and explore your options to improve it.