Let’s be clear: Keeping your mind sharp and preventing cognitive disorders including dementia and Alzheimer’s can be accomplished in numerous ways. Social engagement and participation in the workforce are among the most significant. Whichever methods you employ to deal with cognitive decline, however, keeping your hearing strong and using hearing aids if you need them will be immensely helpful.
These disorders, according to numerous studies, are frequently directly connected to hearing loss. The following is a look at why hearing loss can cause serious issues with your mental health and how strategies like hearing aids can help you keep your brain functioning at a higher level for a longer period of time.
How Hearing Loss Contributes to Cognitive Decline
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have carried out numerous studies over the years to examine the connection between hearing loss and cognitive decline. The same story was revealed by each study: cognitive decline was more common with individuals who suffer from hearing loss. Actually, one study revealed that individuals with hearing loss were 24% more likely to develop Alzheimer’s than people with healthy hearing.
Though dementia isn’t specifically caused by hearing loss there is definitely a link. When you can’t effectively process sound your brain has to work overtime according to leading theories. That means your brain is spending more valuable energy on fairly simple activities, leaving a lot less of that energy for more complicated processes such as memory or cognitive functions.
Hearing loss can also have a significant affect on your mental health. Studies have shown that hearing loss is connected to anxiety, depression, and might even affect schizophrenia. All of these disorders also produce cognitive decline – as noted above, one of the best ways to safeguard your mental acuity is to remain socially engaged. Frequently, people who have hearing loss will resort to self isolation because they feel self conscious in public. The mental issues mentioned above are typically the result of the lack of human interaction and can inevitably lead to significant cognitive decline.
How a Hearing Aid Can Help You Keep Your Resolution
One of the best resources we have to fight dementia and other cognition disorders like Alzheimer’s is hearing aids. Sadly, most people who require hearing aids don’t use them. People may avoid hearing aids because they’ve had a bad experience in the past or maybe they have some kind of stigma, but in fact, hearing aids have been proven to help people protect their cognitive function by helping them hear better.
When your hearing is damaged for a prolonged amount of time, the brain may forget how to recognize some common sounds and will have to relearn them. It’s important to let your brain go back to processing more important tasks and hearing aids can do just that by stopping this problem in the first place and helping you relearn any sounds the brain has forgotten.
Contact us today to learn what options are available to help you begin hearing better in this decade and beyond.