About Hearing Loss
The importance of hearing
On average we say around 16,000 words a day, so goodness knows how many we hear! Our emotions are affected by our hearing – one word can alter our mood, music can relax us. Not only this but our hearing keeps us safe, unlike our eyes, our ears pick up information from all directions.
Hearing loss is often very gradual and in fact, on average it takes someone with a hearing loss around 10 years to do something about it. And let’s face it – nobody particularly wants to wear a hearing aid. But do you want to wait 10 years and miss out on all of those great moments in life? It’s really important not to ignore hearing loss – many studies have shown that the earlier you address your hearing loss the better. The neural pathways that connect our ears and our brains need to be exercised, otherwise they can forget how to properly decipher speech – keep your ears exercised by providing them with amplification!
865,500 people in Scotland have a hearing loss, which is 16% of the population.
People tend to forget about getting their hearing checked, it’s a poor third behind eyes and teeth! Hearing loss happens in our ears, but affects many different aspects of our lives. For instance, statistics show that people with a hearing loss tend to retire earlier. There is also a lot of discussion around new evidence which shows that untreated hearing loss increases a person’s likelihood to develop dementia as they withdraw from social interactions.
Your step by step guide to better hearing
We hear with our ears, but our brains understand speech
Dr. Frank Lin and a team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University followed 1,984 people in their 70s for six years – all had hearing and mental ability tests at the beginning of the study. There were then follow-up brain tests over the next six years. Test scores declined as the study progressed, but Patients with a hearing loss deteriorated 40% more quickly.
It was shown that the worse a person’s hearing, the more likely they are to develop dementia over the next ten years. Dr Lin said that treatment of hearing loss should be a priority rather than an ‘afterthought’. One possible reason for the link is that the brain regions key to hearing are also involved in recall – and if they shrink due to lack of use, memory also deteriorates. It is also thought that the increased effort put into hearing takes up some of the brain power that would normally be devoted to memory. Finally, the social isolation that comes with hearing loss might fuel dementia.
Hearing Loss Levels
The study revealed that mild hearing loss doubles the risk, moderate hearing loss trebles it – and severe loss makes it five times as likely. At the Edinburgh Hearing Practice, we often see people who have put off doing something about their hearing for a long time. The longer a hearing loss is left the more difficult it is for us to help. Our advice is get your hearing checked on a regular basis – at least once a year.
So the moral of the story…. don’t wait 10 years to get your ears checked!
