Correct Hearing BLOG

Lower the risk of dementia – look after your hearing

dementia

Hearing is about so much more than sound.

A growing body of evidence is demonstrating the links between hearing and our wider health and well-being. One of the starkest is the link between hearing and dementia.

An international study in The Lancet – you may have seen it in the media as it was widely reported – found that one in three cases of dementia could be prevented if more people looked after their ‘brain health’ throughout life. Good hearing is integral to good brain health.

The study authors listed nine factors that contribute to the risk of dementia. If addressed, they said, these could lower the risk of onset or the severity of the condition.

Top of the list was mid-life hearing loss.

Important to address hearing loss in mid-life

The Lancet report showed that a quarter of the risk that you can manage for yourself is linked to hearing. And for the first time they raised the importance of addressing this in mid-life between 45 and 65 not when it has been left untreated to later life and the damage has already been done.

The reasons for this connection are not yet fully understood. But there’s lots of work under way to find definitive answers.

However, current thinking is around the brain becoming overloaded due to having to work harder to hear, or hearing loss causing social isolation, with less social engagement resulting in a decline in cognitive function.

Some have put it this way:The strain of decoding sound over the years may overwhelm the brains of people with hearing loss, causing cognitive fatigue, leaving them more vulnerable to dementia.”

Take control of your hearing health and lower the risk of dementia

Whatever the reason, it is now certain that a link exists.

So it is more important than ever that you look after your hearing. And that you have a regular hearing assessment to monitor your hearing health.

The risks of ignoring untreated hearing loss are way too high.

Get in touch today for a FREE hearing assessment with Correct Hearing. You can see us in Carlton, Grantham or Southwell. And if you can’t get to us, we’ll come to you with a FREE assessment in the comfort of your own home.