Treating Hearing Loss Plays an Important Role in a Healthy Brain
Hearing loss, a troublesome fact of life for more than 48 million Americans, according to the Hearing Loss Association of America, may increase the risk of cognitive problems and even dementia. “The general perception is that hearing loss is a relatively inconsequential part of aging,” says Frank Lin, an otologist and epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He says, recent findings suggest that it may play a much more important role in brain health than we’ve previously thought. Fortunately, there’s a potential upside. If this connection — shown in several recent and well-regarded studies — holds up, it raises the possibility that treating hearing loss more aggressively could help stave off cognitive decline and dementia. Essentially, the researchers said, hearing loss seemed to speed up age-related cognitive decline. In a 2011 study focusing on dementia, the results were striking: The worse the initial hearing loss was, the more likely the person was to develop dementia. Compared with people of normal hearing, those with moderate hearing loss had triple the risk. “A recent study, led by Isabelle Mosnier of Assistance Publique-Hopitaux de Paris in France, studied a group of people ages 65 to 85 with profound deafness in at least one ear. Each received a cochlear implant followed by twiceweekly auditory rehabilitation. More than 80 percent of those with the lowest cognitive scores showed significant improvement one year after implantation, according to the study published March 12 in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. M. Kathleen Pichora-Fuller, a psychologist from the University of Toronto, is conducting research to test the hypothesis that treating hearing loss in those with dementia will help to optimize communication, with positive effects on everyday well-being for the patient and caregivers. Ask about our latest technology in rechargeable hearing aids. NEVER CHARGE BATTERIES AGAIN!