| health & wellness |
Listen Up! 7 Facts About Hearing Loss
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by KOURTNEY JASON
Hearing loss is a common chronic condition, especially as we age. Approximately 48 million Americans have significant hearing loss, says Roselynn Young, AuD, owner of Roseville Dianostic Hearing Center. Dawn Alden, ND, at Revolutions Naturopathic says nearly half of people aged 75 years and older have trouble hearing. “While loud noise is one of the most common causes of hearing loss, it can also stem from earwax blockage, certain diseases, trauma to the head and/or ear, frequent ear infections, aging, medications, or [genetics],” Dr. Alden says. It can be hard to recognize age-related hearing loss, as the loss is a gradual process. You may have a problem and not know it. Read on to learn more about the signs of hearing loss and how it can impact your overall health.
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Watch for Warning Signs
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Impaired Cognitive Health
Hearing loss often goes unrecognized due to slow progression. “In an article published in the American Academy of Family Physicians, the authors report 80% of patients 65 and older with moderate to profound hearing loss did not perceive themselves as hearing impaired,” says L. Mark Payne, AuD, and Director of Audiology at Marshall ENT and Hearing Center. Dr. Alden suggests speaking with your doctor if you have any of the following signs of hearing loss: trouble hearing over the telephone, difficulty following conversations, regularly asking people to repeat what they’re saying, turning up the volume on your TV so loud that others complain, having a problem hearing because of background noise, thinking that others mumble in conversations, and/ or not understanding women and children when they speak to you.
Hearing loss can be one of the first signs of a greater cognitive disorder, such as dementia or Alzheimer’s. Cognitive decline creates cognitive overload, which is the inability to process the information you’re being told, says William Forrest, owner of Cognitive Hearing Centers. “If you have hearing loss and can’t hear people around you, especially in noise, this is cognitive overload. When we can’t understand 50% of the conversation, we tend to check out.” When left untreated, hearing loss accelerates cognitive decline and cerebral atrophy (or brain shrinkage) and increases the risk of social isolation. “There are now over 26 scientific studies connecting cognitive decline to untreated hearing loss, which in fact is a precursor to Alzheimer’s,” Forrest shares. JULY 2020 |
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