Sound Advice: Safeguarding Your Hearing as a Defence Against Dementia.
Hearing loss and dementia are linked
Hearing loss is a serious and more prevalent issue than most people realise, with around 11 million people affected by hearing loss in the UK alone, making it the second most common disability in Britain. Hearing loss is also correlated with mild cognitive impairment, social isolation and dementia. If you’re straining to hear someone or reading people’s lips as they speak, your brain will be working extra hard to keep up with the conversation compared to someone with no hearing loss. This can make social interactions much more difficult and tiring.
Research shows that even mild hearing loss, if unaddressed, can double your risk of dementia, while moderate hearing loss triples the risk, and severe hearing loss can increase the risk up to five times. Further research suggests that a hearing impairment is associated with a 30-40% rate of accelerated cognitive decline.
Recently, the link between hearing loss and dementia has been in the mainstream press, as Jeremy Clarkson shared a health update about his ‘doubled risk of dementia’ due to hearing loss, and how he now wears hearing aids to try to reduce his risk of dementia.
What can I do to reduce my risk?
The good news is that there is a lot you can do, such as getting a simple hearing test.
To reduce the risks of hearing loss and dementia, it is important to look after your hearing health and treat even mild hearing difficulties as soon as possible.
The Alzheimer’s Society suggests the following ways to support someone with hearing loss and dementia:
- ● Ensuring regular hearing health checks
- ● Wearing hearing aids and treating the hearing loss as directed by an audiologist
- ● Learning to communicate with visual cues, prompts, gestures and expressions
It’s important to monitor your hearing, and take all the necessary actions to protect yourself from preventable hearing loss. One great way to do that is through the eargym app, where you can check your hearing in as little as 3 minutes, and play fun training games to help you practise your listening skills and improve your hearing experience in everyday life.
