Seniors May Now Fear ‘Cognitive Decline’ More Than Cancer; Hearing Loss a Factor
January 17, 2023
Loss of mental acuity—memory loss, depression, dementia, Alzheimer’s—was named as a top concern for over 65% of respondents in a 2015 National Council on Aging survey. This is reflected by an increase of cognitive decline disorders in the aging population. A growing and promising line of research has identified hearing loss treatment as a preventative measure. Two contributing factors to cognitive decline are directly impacted by hearing loss: social isolation and reduced brain stimulus.
When you have hearing loss, communication is more difficult and requires more effort. Often this results in the choice to withdraw from social activities. Research has identified this loneliness as a risk factor for cognitive decline. Hearing loss also robs the brain of an important source of stimulus. The loss of stimulus directly leads to a reduction of brain activity in the areas of the brain that process sound.
Cognitive decline, social isolation, and poor emotional health are all related to hearing loss.
Hearing loss treatment is a significant lever for maintaining your mental and decision-making faculties as you age. What is of great concern to researchers is that only 20% of those with hearing loss seek treatment. Early detection and treatment—as with many other health matters—increases the odds of success. This makes treatment of hearing loss one of the wisest investments in maintaining mental acuity as you age.
Another compounding factor in this relationship is poorly treated hearing loss. There are some who look at hearing loss treatment casually. Hearing loss patients can be lulled into thinking of treatment as an external volume button. But, when a particular hearing aid technology is a poor fit or a device is not programmed correctly, it does not stimulate the brain properly. While a patient may see some improvement in communication, their investment in treatment is not optimized for the preventative benefit they could realize.
This growing body of evidence makes a strong case for a recipe that can defend your brain from future cognitive decline:
- If you are over the age of 40, have any issues understanding speech, or work around loud noise, get your hearing tested. You would be wise to have your hearing re-tested every 1-3 years.
- If you have hearing loss, treat it. The earlier you start treatment, the more of your cognitive and emotional capacity you can preserve. The maxim applies: pay now or pay later with interest.
- Work with an audiologist who can identify which technology would be the best fit for you. Every hearing aid manufacturer claims they have a technological advantage. But, what is optimal for one patient won’t necessarily be a good fit for another. Also: while a few manufactures invest in research and development, some merely rely on distribution through national retail chains and private label agreements and are consistently behind in technology.
- Insist on testing that verifies that the programming of the hearing aid is on-target. There is great variance in hearing loss profiles and each brain is unique in how it processes sound and understands speech. You want to ensure that your hearing treatment is calibrated so the amplification is set for what you need at various frequencies.
Hearing loss is a serious, significant health issue. Untreated or poorly treated hearing loss can have a profound detriment on your cognitive and emotional health. Consider hearing loss treatment an investment in maintaining your mental sharpness as you age. You can reach my office at 208-792-6034 to schedule an appointment.
A woman shares that her next-door neighbor is a curmudgeon; always has been. Which is why she was so surprised last week when he actually spoke to her for the first time. Not just, “hi,” but dialogue. Friendly. Engaged. Caring. The neighbor asked about her daughter’s first year at college. Then, shared his observations about the birds flying about this time of the year. Turns out he can hear now with his new hearing aids. If a person's hearing aids are right for their hearing loss, and the programming is on-target . . . Hearing aids really can noticeably change a person's demeanor. I see this routinely in my office. If you have normal hearing, you take your hearing for granted. It’s natural to assume that others have the same awareness and information you do. But hearing loss is a state where there is an absence of information. Resignation of not being able to hear and carry on a conversation can be mistaken for curmudgeonly. We all tend to avoid situations where we are uncomfortable or don’t see a chance of success. If you ‘know’ you’re not going to be able to hear, it’s easier to avoid the situation. When we engage socially, it’s natural to want to enjoy the opportunity. Social situations look a little bit different for everyone who has untreated hearing loss. I’ve heard . . . “I’m a homebody, because I can’t hear anyway.” “I’m fine one-on-one, but if there is more than 4 people in a group, I walk away.” “If I can see their face, I can tell what is being said. Otherwise, forget it.” The aim with hearing care is to help patients engage with others. So, they don’t have to settle for, ‘forget it.’ One of the great joys of my work is to see the change in people with hearing loss treatment. It’s as if a great burden is lifted. I suspect that’s what the woman experienced with her neighbor. He likely felt uncomfortable about not being able to hear before. Now, he’s experiencing a brand new world. You don’t have to settle for a life less than fully lived. Have you been struggling with hearing loss? Caring for your hearing can transform your life and relationships. Why not experience life to the fullest? Call our office today to schedule your consultation! 208-792-6034.
Hearing aid wearers report improvement in relationships. Why would hearing aid wearers see happier marriages? Happy marriages practice fondness and admiration. Fondness and admiration are an antidote to times of frustration and hurt feelings. Hearing plays a role. Consider the following scenario. A wife, we’ll call her, Alice, comes home from lunch out with friends. Her husband, Jay, is working on a sink clog in the kitchen. Alice shares an interaction from lunch that greatly frustrated her. Jay is already in “fix-it” mode as Alice shares her frustration. So, he does what many a husband would do when his wife shares relationship problems. He offers suggestions for fixing what went wrong in the interaction. Alice does not have Jay’s full attention. The sink clog does. Alice’s verbal responses to Jay are sending a subtle, but very clear, message. Alice doesn’t find Jay’s responses helpful. Jay hears the tone in Alice’s voice and asks, “Do you need my help fixing this, or do you need me to hear you out?” Alice expresses her need to just be heard. Hearing loss makes communication a more effortful exercise. It is a state of reduced sensory awareness. If Jay cannot physically hear the nuances in Alice’s voice, he could miss an opportunity to demonstrate his fondness. This is far more likely since Jay is distracted with attending to the sink clog. Hearing is the sense most vital for relationships. A ‘heard’ wife is a much happier wife. Caring for your hearing can transform your life and relationships. If you or a loved one find conversation difficult, an audiologic evaluation is the best, next step. You have five senses that you experience life through. Why not experience life to the fullest? Call my office today to schedule your consultation! 208-792-6034.
Hearing aid wearers report improvement in relationships. But loved ones are more likely to notice the change. Surveys consistently report these results. Why would hearing aid wearers see happier marriages? Happy marriages are built on ‘small conversations.' Small conversations are the moments of playfulness and quiet words of encouragement. This is how couples develop trust and rapport. These brief moments of kindness and affection help give us a sense of perspective. That perspective helps us repair the hurt feelings in difficult times. Over time, happy couples get better at supporting each other. They get better at cutting off unkind conversations. Marriage resembles a life-long courtship. A constant renewal of affection that results in marital harmony. Hearing loss makes communication a more effortful exercise. In an effort to conserve energy, small conversations are the first to go. Hearing loss is an obstacle to you receiving words of encouragement. It can also interfere with your ability to recognize when your spouse feels pain. The greater effort it takes to communicate is reserved for ‘big’ conversations. Communication becomes about task, and less on mutual support. Spouses become business partners, rather than life-long friends. Caring for your hearing can transform your life and relationships. If you or a loved one find conversation difficult, an audiologic evaluation is the best, next step. You have five senses that you experience life through. Why not experience life to the fullest? Call my office today to schedule your consultation! 208-792-6034.
I’m hearing more stories of shaming those with hearing loss. Untreated hearing loss is difficult to live with. When you have normal hearing, it can be hard to relate with the struggle of not being able to hear. But, there is another perspective to this topic that warrants attention. As human beings, we thrive in our connection with others. The primary way we feel that connection is when we experience being heard. When our loved ones, friends, co-workers do not hear us, we are left with a loss of connection. This can be painful. How painful depends on the value of the relationship to you. When you are not heard by a loved one who has hearing loss, it can leave you feeling isolated, frustrated, and resigned. This mirrors what happens for those with untreated hearing loss. The difference is in how common the experience is. If you have normal hearing, and are not heard, it’s a moment of disconnect. If you have untreated hearing loss, this disconnect is a constant struggle. Most of us have a hard-of-hearing loved one. Most of us have, on some level, experienced the frustration of not being heard by them. I assert that’s the reason why it is still socially acceptable to shame those with hearing loss. Not being heard is a pain that we can all relate to. So, when you have that moment when you are not heard by a dear one with hearing loss, don’t take it personally. Communication is a more effortful exercise when you have hearing loss. I hope that you find this helpful. We can all be more understanding to those who don’t hear well. Hearing loss or normal hearing: we are all trying to find a way to meet our needs. If you or a loved one find conversation difficult, an audiologic evaluation is the best, next step. You have five senses that you experience life through. Why not experience life to the fullest? Call my office today to schedule your consultation! 208-792-6034.
Have you noticed how once acceptable targets for insults are now off-limits? During my adult life, I have seen many examples of this. We no longer shame those who wear glasses or have braces on their teeth. We no longer target hair color or height. I used to have a short schoolmate that called herself, ‘fun-sized’ to diffuse shaming. I see patterns in my patients’ experiences. Lately, I have heard more stories about shaming those with hearing loss. It still seems acceptable to express frustration through shaming when someone does not hear us. I use “shaming” here as behavior that communicates to another they lack value or worth. Some patients use the term “teasing.” But, I can hear in those conversations the questioning of value. The shaming can come from friends, co-workers, and grandchildren, or even a spouse. Anyone who might find irritation when they don’t feel heard. My patients might respond with a laugh, a cry, or scream. In each instance, I hear pain when they share the story. Untreated hearing loss is not an easy thing to live with. It is a silent struggle. When you have hearing loss, it can be difficult to describe the struggle to someone with normal hearing. You are unsure what is going on and possibly angry. Jokes or teasing about someone’s hearing loss is rarely helpful. It is usually hurtful. A community is made of all different kinds of people. Each one with struggles that others cannot see. There is no need to make someone’s life harder, sadder, or empty. If you think someone is having trouble hearing you, be patient, be understanding, and give them a smile . . . while you rephrase what you said. There’s more to be said about shaming and hearing loss. We’ll pick up the topic Part 2. We’ll look at this from a different perspective. You might find the insights surprising. Until then…… If you or a loved one find conversation difficult, an audiologic evaluation is the best, next step. You have five senses that you experience life through. Why not experience life to the fullest? Call my office today to schedule your consultation! 208-792-6034.
Hearing is a resource that allows us to engage in a real-time fusion of thoughts and feelings. When you have normal hearing, you communicate with little comparative effort. When you have hearing loss, it is much harder to communicate. What surprises those with normal hearing is that hearing loss imposes a burden on communication. We humans so love company. Our need to engage in relationship is hard-wired in our makeup. Many hearing loss sufferers are willing to work harder to communicate, but the effort takes its toll. As an example, imagine you have an armful of groceries to carry into the house. You also have a small child to carry in the same trip. How much less energy will you have to play with the child once you’ve put the groceries down? Now imagine that you always live with this burden. You carry it wherever you go. You never get to put down the groceries. This is the burden that hearing loss imposes on communication. The effort to communicate draws from mental and physical resources. My patients often report renewed energy and mental clarity once they’ve treated their hearing loss. Can treating hearing loss make you smarter? It’s fairer to say hearing loss treatment can help you be more resourceful in a variety of other areas. If you or a loved one find conversation difficult, an audiologic evaluation is the best, next step. You have five senses that you experience life through. Why not experience life to the fullest? Call my office today to schedule your consultation! 208-792-6034.
Routine follow up care will help you get the most out of your hearing aids. Better hearing is not a one-visit event. When you are first fitted, it’s natural to need some time to acclimate to life with hearing aids. It is your brain that hears. Electrical impulses travel from the cochlea (hearing organ) to the brain. These impulses are sent along nervous system pathways. When you have hearing loss, these pathways can degrade for lack of stimulus. Hearing aids present fresh stimulus for your brain and nervous system to adjust to. Follow up visits are very helpful as you adjust to life with the sound you couldn’t hear before. Once you’ve adjusted to hearing what you were missing, routine care will help you get the most out of your investment. Hearing aids are small electronic devices. Your ear canal is a warm, moist environment. Warmth and moisture are hostile to small electronic devices. Hearing aids can also get dirty while you are doing the same activities that get you dirty. I teach patients to clean their hearing aids. But, I have special deep cleaning equipment and replacement parts. It’s best to think of the need for maintenance for your hearing aids as you would your car or truck. If you keep up on maintenance, you will have a better chance avoiding sudden problems. There is another possibility with unmaintained hearing aids. Performance of unmaintained hearing aids can diminish over time. The changes can be subtle enough for you not to notice. Then one day, it dawns on you you’re not getting the performance that you used to. Recent technological advances for hearing aids are remarkable. Routine maintenance will help them last longer and provide a superior listening experience. Make hearing aid maintenance a regular habit. If you or a loved one find conversation difficult, an audiologic evaluation is the best, next step. You have five senses that you experience life through. Why not experience life to the fullest? Call my office today to schedule your consultation! 208-792-6034.
Your enjoyment of music can be enhanced by the use of hearing aids. How do hearing aids work to help you enjoy music? That depends on the source of the music. Lyrics on the radio are easier to understand with hearing aids. Patients often report how they've been misunderstanding their favorite songs for years. These conversations are always good for a few giggles. Listening to lyrics on the radio is like listening to dialogue on the television. The sound comes from a fixed source, 1 or more speakers. Volume is controlled at the sound source. The various sounds are already ‘mixed.' This is very different from a live music experience. Sounds come from different sources. There can be a wide range of volume with many instruments or sound sources involved. Hearing aids have exceptional programming capacity. Custom programs can help in a variety of listening situations. One program can compress sound and use directionality. This allows you to understand speech in noisy situations. Another program can process music. This allows you to enjoy the richness and nuances of live listening. User controls allow you to select between programs. Listening to music through hearing aids connected to a device, such as a smartphone, is very satisfying. Bluetooth delivers music to the hearing aids. The sound is corrected for your hearing loss. The quality of the sound can bring back memories of music before hearing loss. You can be an audiophile, live music connoisseur, or looking to relax at the end of the day. In any case, you will find listening to music through your hearing aids very enjoyable. If you or a loved one find conversation difficult, an audiologic evaluation is the best, next step. Hearing aids can be programmed for your musical listening preferences. Music and conversation are some of the sounds of life that you could be missing. You have five senses that you experience life through. Why not experience life to the fullest? Call my office to schedule your consultation today! 208-792-6034.
I began to fit hearing aids over 20 years ago. One of my earliest surprises was the need to hide hearing loss. I could tell you stories about some of those first patients. Before testing, it was obvious who needed treatment. It didn’t take an audiology degree to tell. We’ve all seen and recognized those signs. There's the telltale look in the eye when someone is trying to decode what was said. Or the slight sideways turn of the head as if an ear was something you point with. You've likely heard the request to repeat phrases like, “What was that?” or “Say again.” Then there's the raised speaking volume. In my experience, the need to hide hearing loss is now less common. Improvements in technology led to smaller, sleeker designs. Devices worn on the ears are more common: Bluetooth for smart phones, ear buds for music players. The social stigma for on-ear devices has gone much of the way toward eyeglasses as fashion items. The result has been fewer people who feel the need to ‘hide’ their hearing loss. But, those who want to ‘hide’ feeling very vulnerable if their hearing loss is uncovered. Why? For some it might be a loss of face. For some, the reasons can be much deeper. Let me offer two thoughts for encouragement. First, others don’t see your hearing loss how you think they see your hearing loss. Your loved ones won’t be at all troubled by your use of a device. What they will notice is the relative ease they have conversing with you. They will enjoy intimate conversation with you without the burden of repeat requests. Second, a problem fixed is a lot less of a burden then a problem put off. One person’s hearing loss is another person’s knee, hip, eyes, or foot. Solving the problem removes the burden of carrying it. So will people take notice of your hearing aids? Perhaps. What they will notice is how much more enjoyable your company is. Time with you will be more natural. Conversation more intimate, more fluid. They will notice the change in you. How different you carry yourself with a burden relieved. Will they realize this is because you have something sitting in or on your ear, likely not. They will just realize you are . . . You, again. If you or a loved one find conversation difficult, an audiologic evaluation is the best, next step. If hearing aids are appropriate, you have a wide range of options. Invisible. Nearly invisible. Obvious. And if you happen to be in the mood, you can have hearing aids in the most vibrant colors you can image. Yes! You can announce to the world, with pride and boldness, that hearing loss will be no trouble for you. Call my office to schedule your consultation today! 208-792-6034.
Hearing can wane as we age. This is one reason why I recommend regular audiologic examinations after the age of 40. How you address hearing loss is important. What hearing loss can cost you is sometimes swept under the rug. “Age-appropriate” can be useful when predicting when a child will learn to tie his own shoe laces. It can cause trouble when used to defer the decision to treat hearing loss. Hearing loss is never “age-appropriate.” My grandmother’s hearing was completely normal at age 90. Asking at what age hearing is no longer vital is like asking at what age companionship is no longer necessary. You could compare the need to hear with the need to experience any of the other senses (sight, smell, taste, touch). But, our hearing is most important to relationships. It is the sense that most contributes to our ability to engage with others. If hearing is difficult, this impairs your ability to listen. If you can’t listen effectively, this impairs your ability to understand. If your partner doesn’t feel heard or understood, intimacy suffers. Companionship depends on that sense of intimacy. I hold my grandfather, we called him Daddy Mike, as an exemplar. He had hearing loss, but would not let it hinder his relationships. He was genuinely interested in what you thought and what you had to say. He was emotionally engaged and as sharp as a tack until his very last days at age 94. Hearing loss, no matter what your age, need not inhibit your engagement with those you care the most about. Relationships—loving, intimate relationships—can make your ‘golden’ years fulfilling and meaningful. I was delighted and privileged to treat Daddy Mike’s hearing loss. I would be just as delighted to treat yours. If you or a loved one are experiencing hearing loss, call my office at 208-792-6034.
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