Feel like you may be forgetting something important? You’re not imagining it. It really is getting more difficult to remember things in daily life. Memory loss seems to develop fairly quickly once it’s noticed. The more you are aware of it, the more debilitating it becomes. Most people aren’t aware that there’s a link between loss of memory and hearing loss.
And no, this isn’t simply a natural occurrence of getting older. Losing the ability to process memories always has a root cause.
Ignored hearing loss is often that reason. Is your hearing impacting your memory? By determining the cause of your memory loss, you can take measures to slow down its progression considerably and, in many cases, bring back your memory.
Here’s what you should know.
How neglected hearing loss can result in memory loss
There is a relationship. Cognitive problems, like Alzheimer’s and memory loss, were 24% more likely in people who suffer from hearing loss.
There are complex interrelated reasons for this.
Mental fatigue
Initially, the brain will have to work harder to compensate for hearing loss. Listening to things takes added effort. Now, your brain needs to work hard where before it just occurred naturally.
You begin to use your deductive reasoning skills. When trying to listen, you remove the unlikely choices to determine what someone probably said.
This puts lots of extra strain on the brain. It’s particularly stressful when your deductive reasoning abilities lead you astray. The consequence of this can be misconceptions, embarrassment, and sometimes even bitterness.
Stress has a significant effect on how we process memory. Mental resources that we should be using for memory get tied up when we’re dealing with stress.
As the hearing loss progresses, something new occurs.
Feeling older
You can start to “feel older” than you actually are when you’re constantly asking people to repeat themselves and struggling to hear. If you’re always thinking that you’re getting old, it can come to be a self fulfilling prophecy.
Social isolation
We’ve all heard the trope of somebody who’s so lonely that they begin to lose touch with reality. Human beings are created to be social. Even people who are introverted have difficulty when they’re never with others.
Neglected hearing loss slowly isolates a person. Talking on the phone becomes a chore. You need people to repeat themselves at social functions making them much less enjoyable. You start to be excluded from conversations by friends and family. Even when you’re in a room with a lot of people, you might space out and feel secluded. The radio may not even be there to keep you company after a while.
It’s just easier to spend more time alone. You feel as if you can’t relate to your friends anymore because you feel older than them even though you’re not.
This regular lack of mental stimulation makes it more difficult for the brain to process new information.
Brain atrophy
A chain reaction starts in the brain when a person begins to physically or mentally isolate themselves. Parts of the brain are no longer being stimulated. They quit functioning.
Our brain functions are extremely interconnected. Hearing is linked to speech, memory, learning, problem-solving, and other skills.
This lack of function in one area of the brain can slowly spread to other brain functions including hearing. Loss of memory is linked to this process.
It’s just like the legs of a person who is bedridden. When they’re sick in bed for an extended time, leg muscles become very weak. They may possibly just quit working completely. Learning to walk again may call for physical therapy.
But the brain is different. Once it goes down this slippery slope, it’s hard to reverse the damage. Shrinkage actually happens to the brain. Brain Scans demonstrate this shrinkage.
How a hearing aid can stop memory loss
You’re most likely still in the beginning stages of hearing loss if you’re reading this. You may not even barely notice it. The good news is that it isn’t the hearing loss that leads to memory loss.
It’s the fact that the hearing loss is untreated.
Research has revealed that individuals that have hearing loss who regularly wear their hearing aid have the same chance of developing memory loss as someone of the same age with healthy hearing. The progression of memory loss was slowed in individuals who started using their hearing aids after experiencing symptoms.
Stay connected and active as you age. If you want to keep your memory intact you need to recognize that it’s closely linked to hearing loss. Don’t ignore your hearing health. Schedule a hearing test. And talk to us about a solution if you’re not using your hearing aid for some reason.