What’s the Link Between Dementia and Hearing Loss?
Dementia is an incurable and progressive mental illness that results in significant and permanent cognitive decline. Because there is no outright cure for this type of cognitive illness, one of the primary avenues of research associated with dementia is the identification or risk factors. Once dementia risk factors have been positively described, practitioners can make recommendations designed to limit those risks.
A recent study published in the Lancet–a well respected and peer reviewed medical journal–gathers strong evidence that hearing loss is a major dementia risk factor. Indeed, according to the article, titled “Dementia Prevention, Intervention and Care: 2020 Report,” hearing loss is the single most preventable dementia risk.
As a result, hearing and cognitive tests are often the first line of defense against dementia. That can be particularly important for several reasons:
- Hearing loss can be a particularly slow moving condition. The mental and cognitive strain caused by the slow decline in hearing ability can have significant impacts on the brain. Functions that may be impacted include memory, speech, and language skills.
- As the Lancet report confirmed, hearing loss is one of the most potent modifiable risk factors associated with dementia and cognitive decline. Individuals are not able to alter their genetic risk factors, for example. But they can change their behavior when it comes to protecting their hearing, which can have a net positive impact on their chances of delaying or preventing the development of dementia.
- Therapies and interventions related to treating hearing loss, such as hearing protection and hearing aids, have been shown to have a net positive impact on the risks associated with developing dementia. Some studies have even shown that those who regularly wear their hearing aids can successfully slow the rate of cognitive decline.
