Are you forgetting something? You aren’t imagining it. Remembering everyday things is becoming harder and harder. Once you notice it, memory loss seems to develop quickly. The more you are aware of it, the more debilitating it is. The majority of people aren’t aware that there’s a connection between memory loss and loss of hearing.
If you believe that this is simply a natural part of the aging process, you would be wrong. There’s always a root cause for the loss of the ability to process memories.
Disregarded hearing loss is often that reason. Is your ability to remember being affected by hearing loss? By determining the cause of your memory loss, you can take measures to slow down its progression significantly and, in many instances, bring your memory back.
Here are a few facts to consider.
How memory loss can be triggered by untreated hearing loss
They’re not unrelated. Cognitive issues, like Alzheimer’s and memory loss, were 24% more likely in individuals who have hearing loss.
There are complex interrelated reasons for this.
Mental exhaustion
Initially, the brain will need to work overtime to compensate for hearing loss. Listening to things takes extra effort. While this came naturally in the past, it’s now something your mind has to strain to process.
It becomes necessary to activate deductive reasoning. You try to figure out what people probably said by removing unlikely choices.
This puts a lot of extra stress on the brain. It’s especially stressful when your deductive reasoning abilities let you down. The consequence of this can be misconceptions, embarrassment, and sometimes even bitterness.
How we process memory can be significantly affected by stress. Mental resources that we should be using for memory get tied up when we’re suffering from stress.
As the hearing loss worsens, something new happens.
Feeling older
This stress of having to work overtime to hear and asking people to repeat what they said makes a person “feel older” than they are. This can begin a downhill spiral in which thoughts of “getting old” when you’re actually not become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Social withdrawal
We’re all familiar with that story of somebody whose loneliness causes them to lose their grip on the world around them. Human beings are created to be social. When they’re never with others, even introverts have a hard time.
A person with disregarded hearing loss gradually becomes isolated. Talking on the phone becomes a chore. You need people to repeat themselves at social gatherings making them a lot less pleasant. Friends and family start to exclude you from discussions. Even when you’re in a room with lots of people, you might zone out and feel alone. The radio might not even be there to keep you company after a while.
It’s just better 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.
When your brain isn’t frequently stimulated it becomes hard to process new information.
Brain atrophy
A chain reaction starts in the brain when somebody starts to physically or mentally isolate themselves. Regions 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.
There will usually be a gradual spread of this functional atrophy to other brain activity, like hearing, which is also linked to memory.
It’s similar to how the legs become atrophied when someone is bedridden for a long time. When they’re sick in bed for an extended time, leg muscles get really weak. They may possibly just quit working completely. They may need to have physical therapy to learn to walk again.
But the brain is different. Once it starts down this slippery slope, it’s hard to reverse the damage. Shrinkage actually happens to the brain. Brain Scans reveal this shrinkage.
How a hearing aid can stop memory loss
You’re probably still in the early stages of hearing loss if you’re reading this. You may not even hardly be aware of it. The great news is that it’s not the hearing loss that contributes to memory loss.
It’s neglected hearing loss.
Studies have revealed that individuals with hearing loss who regularly use their hearing aid have the same chance of developing memory loss as somebody of the same age with healthy hearing. Those who began using hearing aids after symptoms began were able to delay the progression substantially.
As you get older, try to stay connected and active. Keep your memories, memory loss is connected to hearing loss. Don’t dismiss your hearing health. Schedule a hearing test. And if there’s any reason you’re not using your hearing aid, please speak with us about treatment options – we can help!