A recent study from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging, published in the Archives of Neurology suggests a strong link between hearing loss and dementia.
Frank R. Lin, M.D., Ph.D. and his team studied associations between hearing loss and dementia. 639 initially dementia-free adults underwent audiometric testing between 1990 and 1994 and were followed up for the development of dementia or Alzheimer's disease through May 31, 2008. The statistical analysis indicated that among individuals older than 60 years, the researchers estimated that more than one-third of the risk for incident all-cause dementia was associated with hearing loss.
In interviews since the study was published, Dr. Lin has speculated that hearing loss may be causally related to dementia "through exhaustion of cognitive reserve, social isolation, environmental deafferentation, or a combination of these pathways."
That is certainly on possibility. In my opinion, the more likely possibility is that the decrease in sensory input to the brain causes certain cognitive abilities to atrophy.
The next question, logically, is "will using hearing aids help to stave off dementia?" If my hypothesis is correct, then yes, hearing aids would theoretically help stave off the symptoms of dementia. However, no research has been done on this theory as of yet.
Time will tell, but in the mean time, this is just one more reason to take care of your hearing health.
Reference: Medscape.com
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