Are you forgetting something? It’s not your imagination. It really is getting more difficult to remember things in everyday life. Memory loss seems to develop rather quickly once it’s detected. It becomes more debilitating the more you become aware of it. Most people aren’t aware that there’s a link between memory loss and hearing loss.
If you think that this is simply a natural part of getting older, you would be wrong. There’s always a root cause for the loss of the ability to process memories.
Ignored hearing loss is frequently that reason. Is your memory being impacted by hearing loss? By determining the cause of your loss of memory, you can take measures to slow its advancement significantly and, in many instances, bring your memory back.
This is what you should know.
How untreated hearing loss can lead to memory loss
They aren’t unrelated. As a matter of fact, scientists have found that individuals with untreated hearing loss are 24% more likely to experience dementia, Alzheimer’s, or other extreme cognitive issues.
The reasons for this higher risk are multi-fold.
Mental fatigue
To begin with, hearing loss causes the brain to over-work. Listening to things takes added effort. While this came naturally in the past, it’s now something your brain has to strain to process.
You begin to use your deductive reasoning abilities. You attempt to figure out what people probably said by eliminating unlikely possibilities.
This puts a lot of extra stress on the brain. It’s particularly stressful when your deductive reasoning abilities let you down. This can lead to embarrassment, misconceptions, and even resentment.
Stress has a significant effect on how we process memory. Mental resources that we should be using for memory get tied up when we’re dealing with stress.
As the hearing loss worsens, something new happens.
Feeling older
You can start to “feel older” than you are when you’re constantly asking people to repeat what they said and straining to hear. This can begin a downhill spiral in which ideas of “getting old” when you’re still young become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Social isolation
We’ve all heard the trope of the person who’s so lonely that they start to lose touch with reality. Human beings are meant to be social. When they’re never with others, even introverts struggle.
A person with disregarded hearing loss slowly becomes secluded. It’s harder to have phone conversations. You need people to repeat what they said at social functions making them much less enjoyable. Friends and family begin to exclude you from discussions. You might be off in space feeling isolated even when you’re in a room full of people. Eventually, you may not even have the radio to keep you company.
Being alone just seems easier. You feel older than others your age and don’t feel like you can relate to them anymore.
This frequent lack of mental stimulus makes it harder for the brain to process new information.
Brain atrophy
As a person who is coping with neglected hearing loss starts to isolate themselves either physically or just mentally, a chain reaction starts in the brain. Regions of the brain aren’t being stimulated anymore. When this happens, those parts of the brain atrophy and stop functioning.
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 including hearing. Memory loss is linked to this process.
It’s similar to how the legs become atrophied when a person is bedridden for an extended period of time. Muscles become weak when they’re sick in bed over a long time period of time. They could possibly just stop working completely. Learning to walk again might call for physical therapy.
But when it comes to the brain, this damage is a lot more difficult to rehabilitate. The brain actually begins to shrink. Doctors can see this on brain scans.
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. It’s not the hearing loss itself that is leading to memory loss, and that’s the good news.
It’s untreated hearing loss.
Studies have shown that individuals with hearing loss who regularly use their hearing aid have the same risk of developing memory loss as somebody of the same age with healthy hearing. Individuals who started using hearing aids after symptoms began were able to delay the progression considerably.
As you get older, try to remain connected and active. If you want to keep your memory intact you need to recognize that it’s closely linked to hearing loss. Pay attention to the health of your hearing. Have your hearing evaluated. And get in touch with us about a solution if you’re not wearing your hearing aid for some reason.