Hearing Loss and It’s Impact on Relationships and Memory
Can’t you speak louder?… I can’t understand you??? Huhhh??? Are you talking to me???
Yes! If you’re getting older (I know I am), then I am DEFINITELY talking to you.
Hearing loss. We don’t like the all too familiar stereotypes that we all grew up with. That uncle sitting in the corner at family gatherings, ignoring everyone. The “nagging” spouse who seems to always be irritated at their loved one. The house you walked into where the TV was blaring. We all have known someone who has a hearing aid but may not realize how few of those who need them actually wear them.
Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s time to trash those stereotypes and start understanding why hearing loss is one of, if not THE most important thing you should be paying attention to as you age. As a matter of fact, it’s estimated that one in 3 of us will develop hearing loss as we get older. And it’s one of the most preventable causes of dementia, depression, falls, and even isolation and loneliness.
In this post, I’m going to take you through the “what”, the “why” and the “so what” of hearing challenges. And I’ll follow up in the near future with more about how you can easily find out about your hearing status and what you can do about it if you need to address it. I’ll even share some of the important advances in hearing health and technologies that are promising to overcome all of those stereotypes you’ve had.
Just like lots of other parts of our body and mind, our senses degrade as we age. Hearing decline is age related. If you live long enough, just like your vision getting worse, so will your hearing. As a matter of fact, it’s known that 95% of people over age 85 have significant hearing loss. This issue is so important that health care providers and scientists have given it a specific name: Age-Related Hearing Loss, ARHL for short, or the even more fancy name: Presbycusis.
What is it about aging that leads to hearing challenges? Scientists have known that environmental exposure to loud noises over time causes the small nerves in your inner ear, called Hair Cells, to be damaged. Unfortunately, with enough damage, those nerve cells die. And sadly, our body doesn’t make new ones. One sign that you may have this kind of hearing damage going on is a constant buzzing or humming in both ears; something called TINNITUS. Individuals who have occupational exposures to loud noises or those Dead Head’s out there who’ve listened to their stereos blasting rock music are most at risk.
But they’re not the only ones. Diabetes and circulatory disease like heart disease and high blood pressure increase the risk. Some medications can lead to hearing loss, especially things like NSAIDS and some antibiotics. Genetics seems to play a role. Individuals whose parents had hearing loss are at higher risk themselves. But aging itself seems to play a role, too. As we age, we all experience measurable loss especially at higher frequencies of sound. Just like our scalp hair turns grey or thins as we age, so to those hair cells in our inner ears.
So…I can’t do much about my hair turning grey; why should I care about losing my hair cells? It turns out that hearing loss as we age leads to a whole bunch of other challenges. These run the gambit from “inconvenient”, such as having to turn up the volume, to “frustrating”, such as becoming depressed, isolated from those we love, or dropping out of certain social activities, to “deadly”, such as putting us at increased risk of falling, or getting dementia.
We may not be able to easily avoid age-related hearing loss, but the good news is that catching it and treating it can prevent every one of those hearing challenges, from the inconvenient to the deadly. That’s right! As just one example, did you know that treating hearing loss is the NUMBER ONE way to prevent dementia?
Nex time I’ll share more about how to know what whether your hearing is normal or not. I’ll share how easy it is to test your hearing right in your own home; how to see if you have issues that might need treatment, what those treatments cost, how they work, and where to get them. So, stay tuned. In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more, here is a link to a great resource from the National Institutes of Health.