California-based researchers have made a significant discovery regarding the link between hearing impairment and an increased risk of dementia. Treatment plans include strategies to prevent hearing loss.
Lead investigator Linda McEvoy, Ph.D., from Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, explains the implications of their findings: "These results suggest that hearing impairment may lead to changes in brain areas related to processing of sounds, as well as in areas of the brain that are related to attention." She further adds, "The extra effort involved with trying to understand sounds may produce changes in the brain that lead to increased risk of dementia."
McEvoy, who is also a professor at the University of California-San Diego (UC San Diego), led a study examining the effects of hearing loss on dementia. The research team utilized data from the Rancho Bernardo Study of Healthy Aging and studied 130 individuals who underwent both hearing tests and MRI scans. According to a news release from Advanced Audiology & Hearing Care, the study revealed that various regions of the brain were affected by hearing impairment.
Regions in the temporal lobe and frontal cortex, which influence speech and language, experienced changes potentially due to additional efforts expended on understanding sounds. The frontal cortex also showed alterations in areas controlling actions such as planning, multitasking, and paying attention.
These discoveries underscore the importance of maintaining good auditory health. There are several ways people can protect their hearing and shield themselves from dementia. McEvoy suggests: "Interventions that help reduce the cognitive effort required to understand speech — such as the use of subtitles on television and movies, live captioning or speech-to-text apps, hearing aids, and visiting with people in quiet environments instead of noisy spaces — could be important for protecting the brain and reducing the risk of dementia."
Emilie T. Reas, Ph.D., assistant professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine and co-author of this study adds: "The findings emphasize the importance of protecting one’s hearing by avoiding prolonged exposure to loud sounds, wearing hearing protection when using loud tools and reducing the use of ototoxic medications." The researchers are pleased to have a better understanding of why hearing impairment increases the risk of dementia.
