How Does the Brain Respond to Hearing Loss?

Did you know that our brains are continually reorganizing themselves?  Our brains grow and prune their connections as a result of our experiences.  This is called neuroplasticity.

Sometimes this is helpful – about 15 years ago researchers in England found that taxi drivers, who are required to memorize the entire street map of London, actually expanded their hippocampus – a part of the brain involved with memory.

Recently, researchers at the University of Colorado have found that the brain areas devoted to hearing can become reorganized – reassigned to other functions - with even mild hearing loss.  They discovered that areas in the brain that process visual information can take over brain areas which normally process sound.

So, if there is a decrease of stimulation coming in through the ears, the corresponding brain areas that process sound may be “reassigned” to handle stimulation coming in through the eyes.  This is called “cross-modal” cortical reorganization and reflects how the brain actively responds to changes in the environment.

Judy Rasin

The group's work suggests that the portion of the brain used for hearing can become reorganized, even in earliest stages of age-related hearing loss.  These compensatory changes increase the overall workload on the brains of aging adults.

"One in three adults over the age of 60 has age-related hearing loss," researcher Anu Sharma noted. "Given that even small degrees of hearing loss can cause secondary changes in the brain, hearing screenings for adults and intervention in the form of hearing aids should be considered much earlier to protect against reorganization of the brain."

Further studies will be needed to determine if use of hearing aids will prevent cortical reorganization.  Stay tuned!  But it is logical to think that if the auditory parts of the brain continue to receive lots of sound stimulation, the corresponding brain areas will keep active as well.  Use it, so you don’t lose it!

Judy Rasin is a licensed New York State Audiologist and hearing aid dispenser at The Hearing Center at Pelham. You can contact Judy at (718) 822-4100 or visit their website .