Age-related hearing loss can have diverse impacts across your overall life. Not only is your ability to hear impacted, but so too are your social life, your professional networks, and even your mental abilities. Over time, hearing loss can profoundly impact how your brain works in ways that immediately impact your mood, your memory, and more.
The relationship between cognition and hearing loss isn’t always evident. People typically don’t associate their memory problems, for instance, with hearing loss even though it’s one of the first symptoms. Sadly, the reality is that memory loss and hearing loss are closely related.
What’s the link between memory and hearing loss? Well, hearing loss puts a distinctive strain on your brain and that’s, at least to some extent, the connection. Often, when your hearing loss symptoms are successfully managed, your cognitive abilities will sharpen.
How hearing loss effects memory
Hearing loss can be hard to notice. Often, individuals fail to notice the early warning signs and more subtle symptoms. Hearing loss might only be recognized, for individuals in this category, when it becomes more severe. In part, that’s because hearing loss tends to progress quite gradually. People frequently begin raising the volume on their devices more and more and tend to disregard their symptoms.
Another aspect is how good the brain is at compensating for loss of sound. Consequently, you might not notice that people are more difficult to understand. This is beneficial in that you will probably experience fewer disruptions to your daily life. However, compensating in this way requires substantial brain power. Here are some consequences of asking your brain to do this over long periods of time.:
- Unexplained irritability
- Chronic fatigue
- Memory loss or forgetfulness
If you’re noticing these symptoms, we’ll be able to tell you whether the root cause is hearing loss or not. If it’s determined that you’re dealing with hearing loss, we can help you establish the best treatment plan.
Can hearing loss cause memory issues?
Of course, this mental exhaustion isn’t the only way that hearing loss can impact your brain. Forgetfulness is a common symptom. This is especially true of untreated hearing loss. Although scientists aren’t entirely clear as to the cause and effect relationship, hearing loss has been solidly linked to the following problems.:
- Increased risk of dementia: People with untreated hearing loss frequently have an increased risk of dementia and mental decline. When the hearing loss is effectively managed, the risk diminishes substantially.
- Increased risk of depression and anxiety: Studies have shown that neglected hearing loss can also lead to increases in both depression and anxiety over time. And once again, when the underlying hearing loss has been managed, the risk factor drops significantly.
- Social isolation: It isn’t unusual for individuals to disengage from social contact when they have untreated hearing loss. They will often steer clear of conversations and will do things like using self-checkout instead of talking to a cashier. Over time, this sort of isolation can alter the way your brain is working.
These issues are not unrelated, of course. Mental health issues, including depression, can be worsened by social solitude. Similarly, that kind of isolation can also increase your risk of developing dementia.
Can cognitive decline be caused by hearing loss?
One of the more severe impacts of untreated hearing loss is a marked increase in your risk of mental decline and dementia. Scientists have some theories about why this might be, but what’s obvious is that management of symptoms helps substantially. In other words, treating your hearing loss has been shown to reduce cognitive decline and lower your risk of developing dementia down the road.
How to deal with your forgetfulness (and hearing loss)
The good news is, managing untreated hearing loss, if your forgetfulness is caused by hearing loss, will certainly help. In cases where hearing loss is detected, we might recommend the following:
- Hearing protection: Some of the cognitive decline previously mentioned can be avoided and additional damage can be reduced by the use of hearing protection.
- Regular screenings: Before any issues begin to happen, routine screenings can detect them. Mental strain can be avoided with early treatment.
- The use of hearing aids: Using a hearing aid can help you hear better. Your social life can be improved and your mental abilities will have less strain by using hearing aids. By preventing and decreasing social isolation, your cognition can improve, decreasing your risk of dementia, depression, and other issues.
You can improve your memory
You can restore strength of memory even if hearing loss is presently causing a little forgetfulness. Once the strain on your brain is alleviated, your cognitive function, in many instances, will improve. When your brain doesn’t need to work as hard to hear, the rest can be very helpful.
Make an appointment with us so that we can help you significantly improve your outlook and decrease your risk of other issues.
