Healthy hearing is vital for optimal brain function. But what happens to your brain if you have hearing loss? Does hearing loss damage the health of your brain? Indeed it does.
When you have hearing loss, your brain doesn’t receive enough stimulation (sound data) from your ears to work correctly. As a result, your brain's ability to function well deteriorates.
The graphic below illustrates the transformation of sound waves to sound data, which travels to the auditory cortex, which creates the sensation of hearing.
You’ll see three conditions in the graphic — healthy hearing, hearing loss, and hearing loss corrected by hearing aids. Note the effect on the brain in each scenario.
Three Possible Mechanisms
We know less sound data reaches the brain with hearing loss, but why does this cause cognitive decline, and in some people, lead to dementia? Researchers are investigating three possible mechanisms — and the interaction of any combination of the three.
► Mechanism One — More brain work
When you have hearing loss, your brain receives garbled sound from your ears (more noise, less clear signal). As a result, the brain must work harder to decode the sound it receives, jeopardizing brain assets used for thinking and memory.
► Mechanism Two — Brain atrophy
Hearing loss directly affects brain tissue because the parts of the brain used to interpret sound atrophy faster. See the MRI evidence.
► Mechanism Three — Social isolation
Hearing loss isolates people, which can create intense feelings of loneliness. Isolation advances cognitive decline because of less brain stimulating activity and less overall engagement with the world.
Don't delay, damage is permanent
Regardless of the precise mechanism, brain damage caused by hearing loss is permanent — see the MRI evidence. The longer you put off getting your hearing screened, the higher your risk of cognitive decline, memory problems, depression, and potential falls due to problems with balance.The longer you put off getting your hearing screened, the higher your risk of cognitive decline, memory problems, depression, and potential falls due to problems with balance.
Need help with your hearing?
A great way to start is with a free, 15-minute hearing screening performed by an audiologist. It’s easy to find out if you have hearing loss. So don’t guess. Find out.
After all, hearing loss is a modifiable risk factor for dementia.
If you have hearing loss, your audiologist will explain
- How much hearing you’ve lost
- Whether your hearing needs treating now or later
- How hearing aids mitigate the top four risks of hearing loss — social isolation, poor balance, faster cognitive decline, and dementia.
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