Hearing loss may be a warning of a very serious health problem
It starts out as an annoyance, becomes a bit of an embarrassment and, eventually, can turn you into a bit of a hermit.
Up until now, that frustration was one of the worst things about degenerative hearing loss.
But all that changed with a just-published study that puts hearing loss in a new perspective--that of major warning sign and not just an annoyance.
Damage runs deep
Between 1990 and 1994, Johns Hopkins researchers gave hearing tests to nearly 640 dementia-free subjects, aged 36 to 90. Then they followed the development of dementia until 2008.
Results showed a clear link between hearing loss and dementia risk, including Alzheimer's disease. And the results were linear, so the more severe the hearing loss, the greater the risk of developing dementia.
There's a variant on the chicken-egg question here. The study doesn't conclude that hearing loss actually contributes to dementia. But the researchers suggest this might be so in cases where hearing difficulty causes social isolation or mental exhaustion--two conditions that may contribute to dementia, especially when they're combined.
The one factor that made me think that isn't the case was that hearing aid use was NOT linked to reduced risk of dementia or Alzheimer's.
Loud, but not clear
So it's more likely that there's a biological link than a social one, since hearing aids amplify sound, but they can't fix hearing--especially hearing caused by nerve cell damage.
In HealthDay News, neurologist Richard B. Lipton, M.D., explains that damaged nerve cells means that some of the inner ear structure is disabled. This disrupts patterns of vibrations that the inner mechanisms of the ear require to produce sound.
Dr. Lipton: "If there's damage to the neurons that mediate hearing, that may be a kind of marker for similar damage to nerve cells involved in memory and higher cognition."
Bottom line: Hearing loss should be considered a health threat--and a potentially major one.
As I've told you before, folate and vitamin B-12 deficiencies may aggravate hearing loss. Some cases are linked to zinc deficiency. Research has shown that ginkgo biloba supplements may relieve some symptoms.
Extended use of powerful drugs such as chemotherapy, antibiotics and intravenous diuretics can also lead to hearing loss.
If diminished hearing has become a nuisance in your life, it's time to consider it a red flag instead of an annoyance. Talk to your doctor about what you can do now to address the looming risk of dementia before it's too late.
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Jenny Thompson is the Director of the Health Sciences Institute and editor of the HSI e-Alert. Through HSI, she and her team uncover important health information and expose ridiculous health misinformation, most notably through the HSI e-Alert.
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Comments
royce hohn
this is good to know but for me a little late for i went to dr. elis for an ear infection so he opened me up to clean out the infection and little did i no he was a bad dr. and removed a hearing bone and that was it so i ended up getting a B.A.H.A. by cochlear and sealed up my left ear .all i can say through experiance is dont always belive what you hear and some times getting a second opinion would have saved me alot of trouble
Anonymous
From what I've seen in my own family hearing loss and link to dementia is not true. My father started developing hearing loss in his 30's and lived to 88 years old with NO signs of dementia. My mother developed hearing loss, lived to 83 with NO dementia. My grandmother developed hearing loss and lived to 92 and NO dementia. A great aunt lost her hearing totally as a child, lived to 87 and NO dementia. I have the same hearing loss condition as my father had and developed it before I was 40, am now 67 and NO dementia.
Anonymous
this is bunkum.....my entire family has severe hearing loss .... three generations and no dementia .... in fact we are clear thinkers till the day we die.....
what a waste of money.....some factors were probably not even considered....and i wonder who paid for the study?..
i normally do not comment on anything but here, really give me a break......what nonsense .........
R Vasudevan
I don't think that it is right to always link loss of hearing to dementia. My grand father had some problems in hearing in his later years without any other malady and he lived up to 91. I too am having partial loss of hearing for the past few years without any signs of dementia and I am 76 now.
Lori
I read a study awhile back about calcification of "boney" structures within the ear contributing to hearing loss and dizziness. I'm thinking calcium dysregulation might be a common denominator here.
Helen
i HAVE A EAR PROBLEM WITH MY EQWILLITTERiUM where I get dizzy and the room gose around like a record player and I fall down somes times . The Dr. tought me to do exesizes I guess I am a dizzy lady no fun I do not consider my self off base yet
and I am up in age. But I am a surviver.. Keep up the good work we like to hear these things
Geoff
The most common hearing loss is due to the tiny hair cells in the cochlear (the nerve) wearing down over a persons lifetime. Tiny Hair cells located at the start of the cochlear (think of a snails shell as the shape)are associated with High frequency and consonants in speech. Hair cells located at the centre of the cochlear are associated with Bass low frequencies and Vowels in Speech. So here’s the thing...the fluid inside the cochlear will still press against the high frequencies if say for example someone is playing a Bass Guitar..although only the Low frequencies are getting excited and sending the signal to the brain. This typically results in the High Frequency hair cells being the first to get worn down (the door mat effect)...the result being ...people mishear the consonants in speech and give incorrect replies to questions or conversation...nothing to do with dementia !
Anonymous
do you have any effective remedi for cochlear hearing loss?
gibsongrrl
Hearing loss is frequently mistaken for dementia, and a comprehensive hearing evaluation is the best way to find out what's really happening with your loved one. If you don't have a doctor that you see regularly, Hearing-Aid.com and the National Council for Better Hearing can put you in touch with a hearing specialist in your area.
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