Can Wearing Your Hearing Aid Prevent Dementia?
As we age we are likely to experience some decline in our cognitive ability.
Taking longer to learn new things, becoming more forgetful, having problems concentrating and becoming more forgetful is accepted as being part of getting older.
Currently it’s not something that we can stop, but new studies have shown that we might actually be able to slow it down. The link between hearing loss and cognitive decline is better understood than ever before, and it is now thought that wearing hearing aids is linked to slower decline in memory and other cognitive abilities.
In 2020, a study into dementia risk factors had suggested that people with untreated hearing loss were 5 times more likely to suffer with dementia than those with no hearing loss.
With around 1 million people affected by dementia in the UK, and 12 million people estimated to have a type of hearing loss, looking into the link became a high priority.
A growing area of interest at the time was inflammation in the brain, it was seen that the brain’s specialised immune cells may have actually been causing more damage in dementia patients.
Alzheimers UK and The Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) funded research to find out if this inflammation in the brain was a key factor in dementia and hearing loss.
They looked into whether hearing loss caused by noisy environments caused damage and triggered inflammation in the brain and if that sped up the memory problems that come with old age, and if that affected the change in the brain that causes Alzheimers.
As social isolation is a known risk for dementia they also looked at whether hearing loss made it harder for people to stay connected, thus indirectly affecting dementia risk.
Regular social connection and mental activity helps people improve their brains ability to cope when faced with challenges by building what is known as “cognitive reserve”, this gives the brain a better ability to form new connections between cells when old cells are damaged.
Studies showed that people with hearing loss spent more of this reserve to help them process sounds, at the expense of other cognitive functions.
Discretion Hearing has always championed the fact that If you’re exposed to loud noises through work, you should do everything in your power to protect your hearing and have regular hearing checks; these studies further demonstrated this need.
New Breakthroughs
A more recent study has found that an increased risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) , a precursor to dementia involving thinking and memory problems not severe enough to disrupt daily life, is more prevalent in people with hearing loss who don’t wear hearing aids.
The Study by Ulster University investigated the link between hearing aids, cognitive decline, and progression to MCI and found that people with hearing loss were at higher risk of developing MCI than people with normal hearing, but there was no difference between participants with no hearing loss and those with hearing loss who wore their hearing aids showing that people who wore their hearing aids had a significantly reduced risk of Mild Cognitive impairment.
Discretion Hearing Ltd think this study highlights the importance of regular hearing checks and if you need hearing aids, making sure you get the correct type, suited to your way of life, meaning you’re more likely to continue to wear them.
It’s fantastic news that the study’s results suggest that people who wear their hearing aids are no more likely to develop MCI than people without hearing loss and therefore hearing aids may slow the progression of dementia.
Discretion Hearing Ltd offer a free hearing test, and as we are 100% independent audiologists we can advise and demonstrate the best hearing aids for you in our state of the art Southport clinic.
Call us to arrange an appointment on 01704 505283, or email discretionhearing@gmail.com.
You can also contact us here