Are you forgetting something? It isn’t your imagination. It really is getting harder to remember things in everyday life. Once you notice it, loss of memory seems to develop quickly. The more aware you are of it, the more debilitating it becomes. Most people don’t realize that there’s a link between memory loss and hearing loss.
If you believe that this is simply a natural part of the aging process, you would be wrong. Losing the ability to process memories always has a root cause.
For many that cause is untreated hearing loss. Is your ability to remember being affected by hearing loss? By knowing the cause of your memory loss, you can take measures to slow its progression significantly and, in many instances, bring back your memory.
Here’s what you need to know.
How untreated hearing loss can result in memory loss
There is a connection. Cognitive issues, like Alzheimer’s and memory loss, were 24% more likely in people who suffer from hearing loss.
The reasons for this higher risk are multi-fold.
Mental fatigue
Initially, the brain will have to work harder to overcome hearing loss. You have to strain to hear things. Now, your brain needs to work hard where in the past it just happened naturally.
It becomes necessary to activate deductive reasoning. When attempting to hear, you remove the unlikely possibilities to figure out what someone probably said.
Your brain is under extra strain as a result. And when you can’t accurately use those deductive reasoning abilities it can be really stressful. This can cause embarrassment, misunderstandings, and even resentment.
How we process memory can be seriously affected by stress. Mental resources that we should be utilizing for memory get tied up when we’re dealing with stress.
And something new begins to take place as hearing loss advances.
Feeling older
You can start to “feel older” than you are when you’re constantly asking people to repeat themselves and struggling to hear. This can start a downhill spiral in which ideas of “getting old” when you’re actually not become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Social solitude
We’re all familiar with that story of a person whose loneliness causes them to lose touch with the world around them. Humans are social creatures. When they’re never with others, even introverts have a hard time.
Neglected hearing loss slowly isolates a person. It’s more difficult to talk on the phone. Social gatherings are less enjoyable because you need to ask people to repeat themselves. You start to be excluded from conversations by family and friends. Even when you’re in a room with a lot of people, you may zone out and feel alone. Eventually, you may not even have the radio to keep you company.
Being alone just seems simpler. You feel older than others your age and don’t feel like you can relate to them anymore.
When your brain isn’t regularly stimulated it becomes hard to process new information.
Brain atrophy
As a person who is coping with untreated hearing loss begins to seclude themselves either physically or just mentally, a chain reaction starts in the brain. There’s no more stimulation reaching parts of the brain. When this takes place, those parts of the brain atrophy and quit working.
There’s a high degree of interconnectivity between the different regions of the brain. Abilities like problem solving, learning, speech, and memory are all linked to hearing.
This lack of function in one area of the brain can gradually spread to other brain functions like hearing. Loss of memory is linked to this process.
It’s just like the legs of a bedridden person. Muscles get weak when they’re sick in bed over a long time period of time. They could stop working altogether. They may have to get physical therapy to learn to walk again.
But with the brain, this damage is much more difficult to rehabilitate. The brain actually begins to shrink. Brain Scans reveal this shrinkage.
How memory loss can be prevented by hearing aids
You’re most likely still in the beginning stages of hearing loss if you’re reading this. You may not even hardly notice it. The great news is that it’s not the hearing loss that contributes to memory loss.
It’s the fact that the hearing loss is untreated.
Studies have shown that people that have hearing loss who regularly wear their hearing aid have the same chance of developing memory loss as somebody of the same age with healthy hearing. Those who began using hearing aids after symptoms appeared were able to delay the progression considerably.
As you age, try to stay connected and active. Keep your memories, memory loss is connected to hearing loss. Don’t disregard your hearing health. Get your hearing tested. And if there’s any reason you’re not using your hearing aid, please speak with us about solutions – we can help!