Written by: Tess Yudin, Hons. B.A., CDA, Senior Audiology Assistant
Hearing loss and cognitive health are more closely connected than many people realize. Your hearing plays an important role in how you communicate, stay socially connected, and take in information from the world around you. It can also be connected to other aspects of your health, including cognitive health and balance.
Understanding these connections is another reason why paying attention to changes in your hearing is important. In our previous post, we discussed what can happen when hearing loss is left untreated and why it is important to pay attention to changes in your hearing.
Hearing Loss and Cognitive Health
One of the areas that has received considerable attention is the relationship between hearing loss and cognitive health.
When hearing is reduced, the brain may have to work harder to understand speech, particularly when there is background noise. You may be able to hear that someone is speaking, but putting the sounds together and understanding exactly what they are saying can require considerably more effort.
Think about having conversation in a busy Toronto restaurant. You may hear the person across from you, but separating their voice from the surrounding conversations, dishes, music, and other background sounds can be difficult. Instead of understanding the conversation naturally, you may have to concentrate much more closely and fill in parts that you missed.
How Hearing Loss Can Affect Cognitive Health
There are several ways hearing loss may affect the way we think, communicate, and interact with the world around us.
Listening effort is one important consideration. When speech is difficult to understand, your brain has to devote more attention to processing what you hear. This can make conversations more mentally tiring, particularly when there is background noise.
Social connection is another important factor. Hearing loss can make conversations frustrating or exhausting. Some people may begin to participate less in social activities or avoid situations where following conversations is difficult. Over time, reduced social interactions can affect overall well-being.
Hearing also provides the brain with a constant stream of information. When hearing is reduced, the brain receives less auditory information and may have to adapt to changes in how sounds are processed.
Studies have found an association between hearing loss and an increased risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. However, this relationship is complex, and an association does not mean that hearing loss directly causes dementia. Cognitive health is influenced by many different factos.
Can Treating Hearing Loss Help Cognitive Health?
Treating hearing loss can make communication easier and reduce some of the effort involved in following conversations.
Hearing aids and other hearing technologies can help make speech more accessible, particularly in situations where hearing is challenging. Improving access to sound may also make it easier to stay involved in conversations and social activities.
While hearing treatment should not be viewed as a guarantee against cognitive decline, addressing hearing difficulties is an important part of maintaining communication and staying connected with the people and activities that matter to you.
Hearing Loss and Balance
Hearing and balance may seem like two completely separate parts of your health, but they have an important connection within the inner ear.
The inner ear contains the cochlea, which is responsible for hearing, as well as the vestibular system, which helps your body sense movement and maintain balance.
Because these systems are located close together, certain conditions affecting the inner ear can affect both hearing and balance.
Hearing loss has also been associated with balance difficulties and an increased risk of falls. There may be several reasons for this connection.
For example, hearing helps us stay aware of sounds around us and provides information about our surrounding. When hearing is reduced, it can become more difficult to use these auditory cues.
Listening can also require greater conversations. If you are working hard to understand speech or determine where sounds are coming from, you may have less attention available for other tasks.
It is important to remember that balance relies on more than the ears. Vision, the vestibular system, muscles and joints, and the brain all work together to help us maintain our balance.
If you are experiencing dizziness, unsteadiness, or falls along with changes in your hearing, talk to your healthcare provider. These symptoms can have many different causes and may require further assessment.
How Hearing Loss Can Affect Everyday Life
The connections between hearing, cognition, and balance highlight why hearing health is about more than simply being able to hear sounds.
When hearing becomes difficult, everyday activities can require more effort. Following a conversation may take greater concentration. Social situations may become tiring. You may find yourself withdrawing from conversations because it is simply easier than trying to keep up.
These changes can happen gradually, which is why hearing loss can sometimes go unnoticed for years.
You may think that people are mumbling, that restaurants have become too noisy, or that you simply aren’t paying enough attention. But these can also be signs that your hearing has changed.
Signs of Hearing Loss: When to Get a Hearing Test
Consider having your hearing checked if you:
- Frequently ask people to repeat themselves
- Have difficulty understanding speech in restaurants or other noisy places
- Can hear someone talking but struggle to understand their words
- Find yourself turning up the television
- Have difficulty following conversations with several people
- Find listening mentally tiring
- Avoid social situations because following conversations has become difficult
- Notice changes in your hearing along with dizziness or balance concerns
A hearing assessment can help determine how well you are hearing and whether there has been a change in your hearing over time.
Take Care of Your Hearing
Your hearing plays an important role in communication, social connection, and how you interact with the world around you. The connections between hearing loss, cognitive health, and balance are another reason to pay attention to changes in your hearing.
If conversations are becoming more difficult, listening takes more effort, or you have noticed other changes in your hearing, a hearing assessment can help you understand what is happening and what options may be available.
If you’re in Toronto, North York, or the surrounding GTA and have concerns about your hearing, Toronto Audiology Associates is here to help.
Book a hearing assessment in Toronto today to learn more about your hearing health and your options for care.
Learn more about our hearing health services here:
https://www.torontoaudiology.com/
