If you have trouble with remembering and organizing information, buying a day planner from City Lights may help. But if you’re experiencing cognitive decline, you may want to take more drastic measures to improve your memory.
Studies show that wearing hearing aids may prevent or delay cognitive decline, including dementia.
Hearing Loss & Dementia
Among older adults, hearing loss is extremely common. It affects roughly one in three adults ages 65 to 74 and one in two adults ages 75 and up.
This is alarming given the strong link between hearing loss and dementia. Researchers at Johns Hopkins found that those with mild hearing loss have two times the risk, those with moderate hearing loss have three times the risk and those with severe hearing loss have five times the risk of developing dementia compared to someone with normal hearing.
Fortunately, this risk factor for dementia is modifiable, meaning early treatment of hearing loss could prevent or delay this form of cognitive decline.
What the Research Shows
A team of researchers at the University of Melbourne examined the effect of wearing hearing aids on nearly 100 adults ages 62 to 82.
Before being fitted for hearing aids and after 18 months of hearing aid use, the participants’ hearing ability, speech perception, cognitive function, quality of life, physical activity, loneliness, mood and medical health was assessed.
After the 18-month period, the participants overall exhibited improvement in speech perception, listening ability and quality of life. In 97.3% of participants, there was clinically significant improvement in executive function.
Women showed significant improvement in working memory and most other cognitive functions, likely due to the fact the women were more diligent about wearing the hearing aids.
Study Significance
Chief Investigator of the study, Julia Sarant, reports, “This research is a positive step in investigating the treatment of hearing aids to delay cognitive decline… Further research is underway to compare cognitive outcomes from a larger sample size with those of a healthy aging comparison group of older Australians with typical hearing for their age.”
To learn more about how hearing aids can prevent or delay cognitive decline or to schedule an appointment with a hearing expert, call San Francisco Audiology today.