Feel like you might be forgetting something crucial? You aren’t imagining it. Remembering day-to-day things is becoming harder and harder. Once you become aware of it, memory loss seems to advance quickly. The more you are aware of it, the more incapacitating it becomes. Most people don’t realize that there’s a link between loss of memory and hearing loss.
And no, this isn’t just a natural part of getting older. There’s always a root cause for the loss of the ability to process memories.
For many that cause is untreated hearing loss. Is your ability to remember being impacted by hearing loss? You can slow down the onset of memory loss substantially and maybe even get some back if you are aware of what’s causing it.
Here are a few facts to think about.
How untreated hearing loss can contribute to memory loss
There is a relationship. In fact, researchers have found that individuals who have neglected hearing loss are 24% more likely to experience dementia, Alzheimer’s, or other severe cognitive problems.
There are complicated interrelated reasons for this.
Mental fatigue
At first, hearing loss causes the brain to over-work. Listening to things demands additional effort. Now, your brain needs to work hard where before it just happened naturally.
You begin to use your deductive reasoning skills. You try to figure out what people probably said by removing unlikely choices.
Your brain is under extra strain as a result. And when you’re unable to accurately use those deductive reasoning abilities it can be especially stressful. This can cause embarrassment, misunderstandings, and even bitterness.
Stress has a major effect on how we process memory. When we’re stressed out, we’re tying up brain resources that we should be using for memory.
And something new starts to take place as hearing loss advances.
Feeling older
You can begin to “feel older” than you are when you’re constantly asking people to repeat themselves and straining to hear. If you’re always thinking that you’re getting old, it can become a self fulfilling prophecy.
Social solitude
We’ve all heard the trope of someone who’s so lonely that they begin to lose touch with reality. Humans are social creatures. Even people who are introverted have difficulty when they’re never around others.
Neglected hearing loss slowly isolates a person. It’s more difficult to talk on the phone. Social gatherings are not so enjoyable because you need to ask people to repeat themselves. You begin to be excluded from conversations by friends and family. You may be off in space feeling isolated even when you’re in a room full of people. In the long run, you may not even have the radio to keep you company.
Being alone just seems simpler. You feel like you can’t relate to your friends now because you feel older than them even though you’re not.
When your brain isn’t regularly stimulated it becomes hard to process new information.
Brain atrophy
A chain reaction starts in the brain when somebody starts to physically or mentally seclude themselves. Parts of the brain aren’t being stimulated anymore. When this happens, those regions of the brain atrophy and stop functioning.
Our brain functions are extremely interconnected. Skills like problem solving, learning, speech, and memory are all related to hearing.
There will normally be a slow spread of this functional atrophy to other brain activity, like hearing, which is also connected to memory.
It’s exactly like the legs of a person who is bedridden. When they’re sick in bed for an extended time, leg muscles become really weak. They could stop working altogether. They may have to get physical therapy to learn to walk again.
But the brain is different. Once it starts down this slippery slope, it’s difficult to reverse the damage. The brain actually begins to shrink. Brain Scans reveal this shrinkage.
How a hearing aid can stop memory loss
If you’re reading this, then you’re probably still in the early stages of memory loss. You might not even barely notice it. The great news is that it’s not the hearing loss that contributes to memory loss.
It’s neglected hearing loss.
In these studies, people who were using their hearing aids on a regular basis were no more likely to have memory loss than a person of a similar age who has healthy hearing. The advancement of memory loss was delayed in individuals who began wearing their hearing aids after experiencing symptoms.
Stay connected and active as you get older. Keep your memories, memory loss is linked to hearing loss. Be mindful of the health of your hearing. Get your hearing examined. And talk to us about a solution if you’re not wearing your hearing aid for some reason.
