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PAGE 12 THE COURIER How to Choose Hearing Aid

There are health issues that commonly accompany hearing loss in older adults including tinnitus, vertigo and even being 3 times more likely to experience a fall — with just mild hearing loss.

There is one risk that is so hidden that even some of the best researchers have difficulty coming up with a definitive link between it and hearing loss.

That risk is dementia.

In a long-term study led by Dr. Frank Lin, Professor of Otolaryngology, Medicine, Mental Health, and Epidemiology at John Hopkins University, Dr. Lin looked at 1,984 older adults and documented the extent of their hearing issues and the association with falls and the onset of dementia.

Dr. Lin found that the annual rates of cognitive decline or dementia, were 41 percent greater in older adults with hearing problems than those without.

Dementia is a syndrome — usually of a chronic or progressive nature — in which there is deterioration in cognitive function, beyond what might be expected from normal aging.

Close to 50 million people are currently living with dementia and 10 million new cases are diagnosed every year worldwide.

With hearing loss, approximately one in three people between the ages of 65 and 74 has detectable hearing loss and nearly half of those older than 75 have reported difficulty hearing.

While age related hearing loss is a thing, it is important to understand that dementia is not a normal part of aging.

One theory on the link between hearing loss and cognitive decline,explored by Dr. Patricia Tun, Associate Director of the Memory and Cognition Laboratory at Brandeis University, suggests Cognitive Load Theory.

Cognitive Load Theory states that our cognitive load refers to the total amount of mental effort burdening our working memory at any given time.

Hearing loss, especially when untreated, can radically increase the weight of this load because the individual works much harder to focus attention, shift attention between different speakers, filter, and decode messages- than a person who is either wearing the appropriate hearing aid devices or a person who is not experiencing hearing loss.

With enough severity, the mental labor required to process basic verbal communication can be exhausting and that exhaustion can manifest as a decline in cognition. The mental energy that would otherwise be reserved for higher level cognitive processes and activities begins to consistently be redirected.

A second theory combines hearing loss and cognitive decline with a third component.

This third component considers how likely a person is to also self-isolate or experience symptoms of depression — due to hearing loss and cognitive decline.

In a study conducted by the National Council on Aging on the connection between untreated hearing loss and social behavior, 30% of examined participants who did not use hearing aid devices reported feelings of depression and,as predicted, they also reported being considerably less likely to participate in social activities as a result.

Rapidly burning through cognitive resources just to keep up with conversation can negatively impact self- esteem, energy levels, engagement levels and an individual’s sense of belonging- thus driving them into isolation and for some, into depression.

So, what is one way someone might end this vicious cycle?

For starters, by getting a hearing screening.

Research verifies that treating your hearing loss with hearing aid devices can slow the symptoms of related dementia by up to 75%.

Hearing aid devices can also help improve your overall quality of life by restoring confidence and helping with getting you re-engaged and navigating social settings with comfort.

If you or a loved one are experiencing issues that you think may be related to your hearing health, visit us at www.iowahearing. com and schedule your complimentary hearing screening today.

Article contributed by Concept by Iowa Hearing