Hearing and Your Brain Health

There is a lot of information swirling around out there about the connection between hearing loss and brain health, and now there is actually enough data resulting from legitimate studies to provide clear results and recommendations.

And this isn’t just about REALLY old people. It is relevant data for others as well. A recent study in the JAMA Neurology showed that wearing hearing aids significantly reduced dementia risk in participants UNDER 70, while no such benefit showed for those over 70.

This study included 3,000 adults aged 60 and older without dementia. They all underwent audiometric testing and were tracked for 20 years, from the mid-70’s to the mid-90’s. Participants who were younger than 70 at their evaluation and who wore hearing aids, had a 61% lower risk of developing dementia compared to peers with untreated hearing loss. For participants age 70 or older at the assessment, hearing aid use was not linked with a lower risk of dementia.

I find these results rather astonishing. It is clear that treating your hearing loss earlier, rather than later, gives you better chances to avoid dementia, something that we all hope to avoid. This study was unique in that unlike other studies, it focused on participants under 70.

A doctor associated with the study indicated that there are mechanisms that explain the link between untreated hearing loss and dementia:
 Cognitive strain: trying to fill in missing sounds causes mental fatigue
 Brain structure changes: certain parts of the brain shrink, and as the brain tries to compensate, that compensation comes at a cost
 Social isolation: people with hearing loss, and who are socially isolated, face a 70% higher risk of dementia.

If ever there were reasons to treat your hearing loss sooner rather than later, and to encourage others around you to do the same, this study provides the evidence.

I’ll be encouraging my 57 and 61 year old sons to get their hearing tested now !