There are many components of our health that are not immediately realized or felt, but that can impact other areas and contribute to disease and illness over time.
One example of this is heart disease. When a person’s heart begins to have problems, that person may not know it at all until years down the road when a heart attack occurs. Or maybe during a routine check-up there is some abnormal activity detected and the doctor investigates further and discovers that heart disease is affecting the patient.
As we are discovering more and more, almost any problem in one area of the body will affect other areas of the body. The body is one unit that works together to function and achieve health. Hearing health is one component of the body, and hearing is inextricably linked with a variety of other bodily functions and issues.
Hearing and Overall Health
Researchers have recently been finding more and more links between hearing loss and other diseases and issues developing in the body. This knowledge can serve not only as a warning to people about potential hearing loss but can also help alert us to serious health issues that we may not otherwise notice or detect.
Depression and Cognitive Decline
To the brain, hearing loss represents a decrease or loss of information. The less input or stimulation the brain receives, the faster cognitive and mental decline can occur. Hearing loss reduces this brain stimulation and the brain can be damaged as a result.
In 2013, a study at Johns Hopkins University discovered that people experiencing hearing loss have 30-40% faster cognitive decline than those with normal hearing. Explanations for this correlation include increased isolation (resulting in depression), increased efforts by the brain to hear leaves less energy to devote to memory and other cognitive processes, or that the hearing loss could be a symptom of brain injury that also manifests as memory loss or other cognitive decline.
Whether the connection is due to one of these factors or a combination, decreased hearing function appears to cause a change in the way the brain operates, leading to mental decline over time.
What Can You Do?
As with any other health issue, it’s important to catch hearing loss early so it can be addressed, and so all efforts can be made to slow or halt hearing damage.
As of now, hearing loss is not reversible in the human body. What we can do is assist our brains in processing sounds and amplifying the world around us with hearing aids.
It has been shown that with proper hearing aids, not only can a person regain normal hearing, but the brain can again process sounds and information in a normal way, which slows or stops cognitive decline.
It is important to catch hearing loss as soon as possible, not only for your social life and entertainment, but for your brain health as well! Schedule your annual hearing screening today, and take back your hearing health!
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The information provided in this article is not meant to be medical advice and is for educational purposes only. If you would like to learn more about this and other topics related to audiology, feel free to contact Los Gatos Audiology, with a convenient hearing center located in Los Gatos, CA, by clicking here or by calling 408.703.0772.