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As we approach the holiday season, connections with our family members may be at the forefront of our minds. Buying gifts, preparing food, and planning travel are all ways that we get ready to connect with our families at the end of the year. These times can be delightful and carefree events that lead us from 2018 into 2019, but for some, the holidays are a source of anxiety. When our memories and communication skills suffer, we can feel more stress than excitement at the oncoming meetings with friends and families.
As November is National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, it is important to shed light on a striking connection between dementia, communication, and hearing loss.
Studies on Hearing Loss and Dementia
Dr. Frank Lin at Johns Hopkins has established a connection between dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, and hearing loss. You may wonder how that connection really works, and you are not alone. Studies have established a link between the two conditions of hearing loss and dementia, and the connection may be most clearly found in social isolation.
Untreated hearing loss affects our ability to communicate. People with untreated hearing loss struggle to put together the pieces of information they hear into meaningful wholes in their minds. They strive to make sentences out of random syllables that break through, and they watch lips and follow social contextual clues to try to understand what is going on. This makes communication incredibly stressful, and the mind becomes overloaded with seemingly disconnected information. When the mind is constantly inundated with random pieces of information, this could lead to a heavier cognitive load.
Some researchers have pointed to a connection between a heavier cognitive load and an increased risk for dementia. When one struggles to process and make sense of audio information with untreated hearing loss, the energy involved is taken away from other important brain processes. In turn, this could make the brain vulnerable to cognitive disorders, such as dementia.
Social Isolation with Untreated Hearing Loss
Although dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are especially heartbreaking conditions for the friends and loved ones of the person who is diagnosed, other mental health effects have been clearly associated with hearing loss, as well. These often have a social origin, including the experience of anxiety among those who know that they will not be able to hear well in social gatherings or even one-on-one encounters.
We build our relationships out of communication, and the ability to clearly get our ideas and feelings across to those we love usually relies on the ability to hear and to be heard. Not only do the sufferers of hearing loss experience such struggles, their loved ones may also feel the pain of loss when they are no longer able to connect as they used to do. When a family member experiences hearing loss, the social effects are wide-reaching, extending not only the individuals who struggle to hear, but also to their family members, friends, loved ones, coworkers, and those they encounter in everyday life.
In other words, there is a clear link between untreated hearing loss and social isolation. When communication becomes difficult or awkward, people may retreat from their friends, loved ones, and communities, rather than make accommodations. In fact, a report from The Lancet identifies social isolation as a leading risk factor for dementia, along with hearing loss.
Seeking Treatment for Hearing Loss
With the mounting evidence that hearing loss is related to such devastating mental and cognitive effects, why not make this holiday season a time to seek a solution? Your presence is the best gift you can give your loved ones.
The first step toward better hearing is to contact us at New Leaf Hearing Clinic to set up an appointment for a hearing test. Hearing tests provide important information about your hearing abilities. Whether mild or severe, our team is experienced in treating hearing loss with the best hearing solutions for our patients.
Just imagine a holiday gathering where you are in the conversation again, engaging with family who have traveled from far away, as well as those you keep near and dear! Contact us at New Leaf Hearing Clinic today to schedule a consultation.