Doctors warn young people to end hearing aids stigma as study links deafness to dementia and early death
How many people do you know – or have you seen – wear glasses and contact lenses? Now compare this to the number you’ve come across who wear a hearing aid. The chasm is enormous.
And yet, the eyes and ears are both crucial senses. A study published in The Lancet
Healthy Longevity journal this month – based on a sample of 9,885 adults aged 20 and above, between 1999 and 2012 – reports those with hearing loss who do not wear aids could be at risk of both dementia and early death.
Hearing loss and hearing aids should be seen in the same light as having weak eyesight and wearing glasses, according to doctors in the UAE.
Dr Rashmi Fernandes, an ENT specialist at RAK Hospital, explains that the eye and the ear both “get weaker as we age”, but the stigma involved in wearing hearing aids prevents many people from making the right choice for their health and well-being.
Another myth she busts is that hearing loss is not exclusive to the elderly and that young people are more prone to it in today’s world largely in part because of headphones and gaming gadgets that “tend to be too loud”.
Loud and clear
The Lancet study suggests wearing hearing aids may promote both longevity and brain health, with researchers noting that “untreated hearing loss could affect social isolation and declines in physical activity and cognitive function”.
Dr Akash Abdul Rasheed, an ENT, head and neck specialist at Aster Hospital Muhaisnah,
Dubai, explains how if people with hearing loss don’t use hearing aids, they will not only lose their hearing at a faster pace, but may also be affected in social situations.
He says: “It’ll be hard for them to pick up words. They might withdraw from society, which can potentially lead to depression.”
The doctor adds that as hearing loss advances, confusion increases. In some cases, this makes people more prone to dementia later in life.
“There are conclusive studies and randomised clinical trials that confirm hearing loss is directly related to an early onset of dementia, cognitive effects, behavioural issues, loneliness and depression,” Dr Abdul Rasheed said.
Dr Fernandes agrees, but adds the alternative hypothesis published in The Lancet’s study – which links untreated hearing loss to death – requires “a lot more research in order to conclude conclusively that hearing aid use does in fact reduce mortality risk and promote longevity”.
“Most of the time, hearing loss is detected in the elderly,
a population that has other co-morbidities that can contribute to mortality,” she adds.
Hear, hear
All experts agree that quality of life will improve by treating hearing loss. And yet, hearing aids come attached with a perceived societal stigma, especially for younger patients, who instead often choose to ignore tinnitus or suffer through impaired hearing.
For example, according to America’s National Institute on Deafness and Other
Communication Disorders, 30 million people in the US aged 12 and above have hearing loss in both ears, but only 15 per cent of them use aids.
“People worry because if everyone saw them wearing hearing aids, it would be known that they are having hearing loss,” explains Dr Abdul Rasheed.
The good news, he says, is that hearing aids no longer have to be highly visible devices that go over the ear, as many imagine. Instead, introducing inner ear canal hearing aids could be the way to go.
These “invisible hearing aids” require no invasive surgery, are discreet and can easily be turned on and off “such that others won’t notice it at all”, says Dr Abdul Rasheed.
Pharmacies in the UAE offer self-fitting, over-the-counter hearing aids and machines, which a study published in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology
– Head & Neck Surgery claims may be just as effective as those fitted by an audiologist, although specialist medical advice in the long-term is a must.