Cognitive Ability and Hearing Loss May Go Hand in Hand

Did you know that there are links between untreated hearing loss and a decline in cognitive skills? Studies have shown that adults with untreated hearing loss experience a 30-40% faster decline in cognitive abilities compared to peers with aided hearing. 

Cognitive abilities are brain-based skills required to accomplish any task from the simplest to the most complex.  Basically, cognitive abilities affect how a person understands the world and interacts in it. Core aspects of cognition are visual and spatial processing, language, motor skills, memory, attention and perception.

Scientists believe that extra effort exerted by the brain to listen and comprehend redirects resources from the part of the brain used for memory and decision making. In fact, MRI’s of people with hearing loss have shown the part of the brain responsible for sound and speech shrinks faster than normal, likely due to atrophy from lack of stimulation.

A recent study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society compared the trajectory of cognitive decline among older adults who were using hearing aids and those who were not. While the study found no difference in the rate of cognitive decline between a control group with no reported hearing loss and people with hearing loss who used hearing aids, untreated hearing loss was significantly associated with lower baseline scores on the Mini-Mental State Examination.

If you have concerns that yourself or a loved one is experiencing hearing loss leading to a decline in overall health, please reach out to our team at McGuire’s. We provide the highest level of audiological evaluations and hearing aid services in a warm, private setting.