Your overall life can be affected by age-related hearing loss. Not only is your ability to hear affected, but so too are your social life, your professional networks, and even your mental abilities. The way your brain functions, including your memory and mood, can be significantly affected by hearing loss.
Sometimes, the relationship between hearing loss and cognition is subtle. For example, one of the initial symptoms of hearing loss may be forgetfulness, but individuals rarely think that their memory problems are linked to a loss of hearing. Unfortunately, the reality is that memory loss and hearing loss are closely related.
What’s the link between memory and hearing loss? Well, the connection is at least partly due to the unique ways that hearing loss can strain and stress your brain. Your mental abilities will normally improve when you manage your hearing loss.
How memory is impacted by hearing loss
Detecting hearing loss can often be challenging. Often, individuals miss the early warning signs and more discreet symptoms. For these individuals hearing loss may only become evident once it has become moderate or severe. The development of hearing loss is usually slow over time and that’s in part why it’s initially hard to detect. Individuals often begin raising the volume on their devices more and more and tend to dismiss their symptoms.
Another factor is how good the brain is at compensating for loss of sound. As a result, you might not notice that people are more difficult to understand. This is beneficial in that you will most likely experience fewer interruptions to your daily life. However, compensating in this way requires substantial brain power. Here are a few consequences of asking your brain to do this over long periods of time.:
- Chronic fatigue
- Unexplained irritability
- Memory loss or forgetfulness
If you’re experiencing these symptoms, we’ll be able to tell you whether the underlying cause is hearing loss or not. In cases where hearing loss is present, we’ll work with you to establish a treatment plan.
Can memory problems be the result of hearing loss?
Obviously, your brain can be impacted by hearing loss in other ways besides fatigue. Forgetfulness is often a prominent presentation. When hearing loss has been neglected, this is especially true. Although scientists aren’t completely clear as to the cause and effect connection, hearing loss has been strongly linked to the following issues.:
- Increased risk of dementia: The risk of dementia and other forms of cognitive decline is greater for individuals who have untreated hearing loss. When the hearing loss is effectively managed, the risk goes down substantially.
- Increased risk of depression and anxiety: Studies have demonstrated that untreated hearing loss can also result in increases in both depression and anxiety over time. Again, this risk has been demonstrated to decrease when the underlying hearing loss is effectively managed.
- Social isolation: It’s not unusual for individuals to disengage from social contact when they have neglected hearing loss. You’ll go out less frequently, chat with the cashier at the supermarket less, and so on. Over time, this kind of solitude can alter the way your brain is functioning.
These issues are not unrelated, of course. Social solitude can exacerbate depression and other mental health issues. Likewise, that type of solitude can also raise your risk of developing dementia.
Can mental decline be caused by hearing loss?
One of the more serious impacts of untreated hearing loss is a pronounced increase in your risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Scientists have some theories about why this may be, but what’s clear is that management of symptoms helps considerably. In other words, treating your hearing loss has been shown to reduce mental decline and decrease your risk of developing dementia later in life.
Dealing with hearing loss induced forgetfulness
If your fatigue and memory loss are caused by untreated hearing loss, the good news is that treating your hearing loss symptoms can absolutely have a positive impact. In cases where hearing loss is identified, we may suggest the following:
- The use of hearing aids: Utilizing a hearing aid can help you hear better. Your social life can be improved and your cognitive abilities will have less strain by using hearing aids. By avoiding and reducing social isolation, your cognition can improve, lowering your risk of dementia, depression, and other issues.
- Regular screenings: Routine screenings can help you identify problems with your hearing before they become significant problems. Treating your hearing loss early can prevent cognitive strain.
- Hearing protection: Using hearing protection can counter additional degradation of your hearing and, consequently, help prevent some of the cognitive strain described above.
You can improve your memory
You can recover strength of memory even if hearing loss is currently causing a little forgetfulness. Once the strain on your brain is relieved, your cognitive function, in many circumstances, will improve. When your brain doesn’t need to work as hard to hear, the rest can be very helpful.
Scheduling an appointment with us can greatly improve your outlook and reduce your risk for other issues. Call us today!
