Hearing Health Matters: Linking Hearing Loss and the Brain

Linking with all aspects of life requires similar networking capabilities for us to be successful in life’s relationships. With hearing loss, connection and communication networks are interrupted and we are no longer linked in with life.

Our body is a complex network of many necessary and influential members unified to make us healthy, well, and who we are. The brain is central to everything we do, think, and remember. It has billions of nerve cells (neurons), trillions of fibers and connections (nerve impulses) that form a network linking it to all body parts (nervous system). Nerve cells receive and send information, which is processed to make us aware of what we see, hear, smell, taste, touch, and plans our movements. The brain is the major site for thinking, awareness, behavior, feelings, and involved in learning and memory.

Reasoning, memory and attention are brain functions essential for independent living. Cognitive abilities, such as focusing, memory, ability to learn and retain new things, decrease due to the normal process of aging but other factors can alter function and the rate of deterioration. What happens when the brain is deprived of vital input for learning, information exchange and connection with others that is provided by the ears –the sensation of sound?

Scientists have established a link between hearing loss and cognitive function. Physiologically, the true organ of hearing is the brain as it assigns meaning to the sounds that are transmitted from the ears. Loss of hearing can impact a person’s ability to detect sound (peripheral system) as well as the ability to process or understand sound in the brain (central system). Sound has the power to stimulate the brain, which is why hearing loss can have a profound impact on health. People with untreated hearing loss have been found to show cognitive decline 30-40% faster than someone without hearing loss. Brain scans have shown that hearing loss contributes to a faster rate of brain atrophy or shrinkage.

Identifying and treating hearing loss is important. Fewer sounds making their way to the brain (auditory deprivation), shifts how it operates and the ability to “hear’ or make sense of sound information is lost. The auditory area shrinks or is reassigned to other tasks. Untreated hearing loss overworks the brain requiring assistance from the parts of the brain involved in thinking and memory, decreasing brain efficiency. Social isolation often occurs when you can’t hear, decreasing brain stimulation.

With life expectancy getting longer, making this added time healthy, enjoyable and productive is linked to preventing and controlling chronic diseases and conditions. Auditory deprivation can limit the quality of life and independence. Although hearing loss doesn’t cause dementia, it increases the risk for developing dementia and SHOULD NOT be ignored.

Experts consider treating hearing loss as a proactive step to help lower the risk of cognitive decline. The adage “use it or lose it” applies to brain and hearing health. Choose to “Use it and Improve it” by having your hearing evaluated and treated. Schedule an evaluation with an audiologist to determine presence, type, and severity of hearing loss and next steps for treatment. Properly fit hearing aids are known to reduce listening effort, leaving more cognitive resources available for other brain tasks, re-stimulate areas of the brain that been deprived due to loss of sensation, and improve social communication. Understanding the link between hearing loss and brain fitness helps you improve your overall health.

June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month.

Resources:
www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2020.00093/full
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3096191/
www.ncoa.org/adviser/hearing-aids/hearing-loss-america/