Are you forgetting something? You’re not imagining it. Remembering day-to-day things is getting harder and harder. Once you become aware of it, memory loss seems to advance quickly. It becomes more incapacitating the more you become aware of it. Most people aren’t aware that there’s a link between loss of memory and hearing loss.
If you believe that this is simply a normal part of the aging process, you would be wrong. Losing the ability to process memories always has an underlying reason.
Disregarded hearing loss is often that reason. Is your ability to remember being impacted by hearing loss? You can delay the development of memory loss substantially and maybe even get some back if you are aware of what’s causing it.
This is what you should know.
How memory loss can be triggered by untreated hearing loss
There is a relationship. As a matter of fact, scientists have found that those with untreated hearing loss are 24% more likely to develop dementia, Alzheimer’s, or other profound cognitive issues.
The reasons for this increased risk are multi-fold.
Mental fatigue
Initially, the brain will need to work harder to overcome hearing loss. You have to strain to hear things. Now, your brain has to work hard where in the past it just happened naturally.
It becomes necessary to activate deductive reasoning. When trying to hear, you remove the unlikely possibilities to determine what someone probably said.
This puts a lot of added stress on the brain. It’s particularly stressful when your deductive reasoning abilities lead you astray. This can lead to embarrassment, misconceptions, and even bitterness.
Stress has a significant effect on how we process memory. When we’re stressed out, we’re tying up brain resources that we should be using for memory.
As the hearing loss advances, something new happens.
Feeling older
You can begin to “feel older” than you actually are when you’re constantly asking people to repeat themselves and straining to hear. If you’re always thinking that you’re getting old, it can come to be a self fulfilling prophecy.
Social withdrawal
We’re all familiar with that narrative of someone whose loneliness causes them to lose their grip on the world around them. Human beings are created to be social. When they’re never with others, even introverts have a hard time.
A person with neglected hearing loss gradually becomes isolated. Talking on the phone becomes a chore. You need people to repeat themselves at social functions making them a lot less enjoyable. You begin to be excluded from conversations by friends and family. Even when you’re in a room with a lot of people, you might space out and feel secluded. The radio may not even be there to keep you company after a while.
Being on your own just seems simpler. You feel older than others your age and don’t feel that you can relate to them now.
This frequent lack of mental stimulus makes it harder for the brain to process new information.
Brain atrophy
A chain reaction starts in the brain when somebody starts to physically or mentally seclude themselves. There’s no more stimulation reaching regions of the brain. When this takes place, those regions of the brain atrophy and stop working.
There’s a high level of interconnectivity between the various parts of the brain. Hearing is connected with speech, memory, learning, problem-solving, and other abilities.
This lack of function in one region of the brain can slowly move to other brain functions like hearing. Loss of memory is connected to this process.
It’s exactly like the legs of a person who is bedridden. Muscles get weak when they’re sick in bed over a period of time. They may quit working entirely. Learning to walk again could call for physical therapy.
But the brain is different. Once it starts down this slippery slope, it’s hard to undo the damage. Shrinkage actually happens to the brain. Brain Scans demonstrate this shrinkage.
How memory loss can be prevented by hearing aids
You’re probably still in the beginning stages of hearing loss if you’re reading this. You may not even barely be aware of it. The good news is that it’s not the hearing loss that leads to memory loss.
It’s the fact that the hearing loss is neglected.
In this research, people who were using their hearing aids on a regular basis were no more likely to have memory loss than a person of a similar age who doesn’t have hearing loss. Individuals who started using hearing aids after symptoms appeared were able to delay the progression considerably.
As you age, try to stay connected and active. If you want to keep your memory intact you should understand that it’s closely linked to hearing loss. Be mindful of the health of your hearing. Get your hearing tested. And if there’s any reason you aren’t wearing your hearing aid, please speak with us about solutions – we can help!