40% More Likely of Dementia With Midlife Hearing Loss
As we all know, those with dementia have trouble with various mental abilities, but it’s a general term for a group of diseases such as Alzheimer’s: the most common form affecting memory.
For a long time, it was thought that nothing could be done to treat dementia, and that it was something anyone could suffer from in old age.
Now, there are 14 ways in which we can dramatically reduce the risk—or at least delay the onset—with hearing aids being one of them.
What Causes Dementia?
The brain’s abilities are affected by damaged brain cells, leading to a decline in function. While age is a risk factor, it’s just as likely to be genetics or lifestyle choices that cause the most harm.
Not enough sleep, smoking and drinking are the highest contributors, but thankfully these are things that we can control. Unlike age or genetics.
However, there’s another less obvious risk factor that we don’t talk about enough, and that’s our hearing.
The Effect of Hearing Aids
Those with hearing loss are 40% more likely to develop dementia. This was controversial as recently as 2015, but studies have found that if left untreated, hearing loss can cause the brain to shrink.
Those with hearing loss find themselves socialising less and isolating more frequently, which starts a snowball effect of harmful behaviours from less stimulation — One of the most stimulating things we can do for our brains is to have conversations with people.
Catching hearing loss early enough and adopting hearing aids will provide a new lease of life, which stimulates the brain with positivity and interactions with others.
If left untreated, those suffering with the condition will withdraw more frequently from what life has to offer, which will contribute significantly to the onset of dementia.
If you or someone you know could be suffering with hearing loss, book an appointment online for a hearing test.
Other Methods of Preventing Dementia
These days, there is a lot of positivity around being able to prevent or delay dementia, extending the quality of life you’re used to.
Below are 13 other causes of dementia alongside hearing loss that can be controlled—to a certain extent—in order to ward off dementia later in life.
Percentages show the reduction in risk if they are addressed and corrected in time.
Early Life
5% Less education
Midlife
7% High LDL cholesterol
3% Depression
3% Traumatic brain injury
2% Physical inactivity
2% Diabetes
2% Smoking
2% Hypertension
1% Obesity
1% Excessive alcohol
Late life
5% Social isolation
3% Air pollution
2% Loss of vision
Conclusion
While drugs are available to help with dementia, they simply aren’t good enough yet. So, it’s up to us to ensure that we do what we can to prevent it in the first place.
Making sure that we adopt a healthy lifestyle is a great first step, but it’s too easy to ignore hearing loss. Catching it early will mean that we remain social and remove a huge amount of risk from developing dementia.
If you or someone you know may have hearing loss, book an appointment online or call 01179 012526 today.
