Beyond Not Hearing Conversations
Untreated Hearing Loss Puts Your Health at Risk
Research from renowned universities and organizations in America has discovered connections between untreated hearing loss and your overall health and wellness. No matter your age, occupation or economic status, you aren’t immune to the health effects of untreated hearing loss.
Up to 5 times the risk of developing dementia
A 12-year study at Johns Hopkins showed actual changes to the cells in the brain when hearing loss is left untreated. They saw an increase in atrophy, or wasting away, of brain cells. With your brain trying to figure out the puzzles that conversations become when your hearing is limited, the areas related to reasoning, decision-making and memory, rather than speech comprehension, are activated, essentially overloading them and making them work harder.
This same study found that even with mild hearing loss, the risk of developing dementia is doubled compared to those with no hearing loss. As your hearing loss increases, so does your risk of developing dementia according to the research.
Up to 10 times the risk of a serious fall
Science is still trying to determine the reason falling and hearing loss are so connected but they’ve come up with some explanations.
- Brain overload. Those changes we talked about earlier in this story may be impacting balance as hearing and balance share the same pathways in the brain. Additionally, it takes more brain power to interpret sound so this may be distracting people with hearing loss from paying close attention to their surroundings.
- Missing sound cues. A lot of how we interact with our surroundings is through sound. Without hearing all the sounds, cues would be missing.
- Depression. Evidence shows that people with depression have more falls and there’s a bigger risk of depression when hearing loss is left untreated.
Increased Health Care and Hospital Costs
A five-year study found those with untreated hearing loss had 46% higher health care costs than those without hearing loss. It also showed a much greater risk of re-admittance within 30 days for people who’ve ignored their hearing loss.
Again, the science isn’t firm on why this is happening but it’s thought some of it could be because of the dementia and falls risks noted above. Additionally, broken communication with doctors and nurses could be contributing. If you can’t clearly understand what the medical staff is asking of you, wrong answers can happen.
Can Hearing Aids Actually Help?
While we can’t say hearing aids prevent dementia, some research has shown using hearing aids as prescribed may slow the progression of cognitive decline for those already experiencing it and reduce the risk of it developing in the first place.
It appears from research conducted in 2023 that consistent use of hearing aids – meaning all day every day – could cut the risk of a serious fall in half.
Those health care costs could be reduced, according to research from 2018 that showed regular use of hearing aids reduced emergency room visits and hospitalizations.
Take Action for Yourself
The longer you wait to care about your hearing, the bigger your risks become.
SOURCES:
Alison R. Huang, PhD; Kening Jiang, MHS; Frank R. Lin, MD, PhD; et al. Hearing Loss and Dementia Prevalence in Older Adults in the US. January 10, 2023.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web–based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [online].
Kakara R, Bergen G, Burns E, Stevens M. Nonfatal and Fatal Falls Among Adults Aged ≥65 Years—United States, 2020–2021. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2023;72:938–943. DOI: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7235a1.
Moreland B, Kakara R, Henry A. Trends in Nonfatal Falls and Fall-Related Injuries Among Adults Aged ≥65 Years—United States, 2012–2018. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2020 July 10;69(27):875–881. DOI: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6927a5.
Kakara RS, Lee R, Eckstrom EN. Cause-Specific Mortality Among Adults Aged ≥65 Years in the United States, 1999 Through 2020. Public Health Reports. 2023 March;139(1):54–58. DOI: 10.1177/00333549231155869.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics System, Mortality 1999–2020 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released in 2021. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999–2020, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed February 9, 2023.
Frank R. Lin, MD, PhD, and Luigi Ferrucci, MD, PhD. Hearing Loss and Falls Among Older Adults in the United States. February 27, 2013.
Namkee G. Choi, PhD, C. Nathan Marti, PhD, Diana M. DiNitto, PhD, and Mark E. Kunik, MD, MPH. Longitudinal Associations of Falls and Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults. The Gerontologist, 2019, Vol. 59, No. 6
Trends in Health Care Costs and Utilization Associated With Untreated Hearing Loss Over 10 Years. Nicholas S. Reed, AuD; Aylin Altan, PhD; Jennifer A. Deal, PhD; Charlotte Yeh, MD; Alexander D. Kravetz, PharmD; Margaret Wallhagen, RN, PhD; Frank R. Lin, MD, PhD. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2019;145(1):27-34. Published online November 8, 2018.
Hearing intervention versus health education control to reduce cognitive decline in older adults with hearing loss in the USA (ACHIEVE): a multicentre, randomised controlled trial. Lin FR, Pike JR, Albert MS, Arnold M, Burgard S, Chisolm T, Couper D, Deal JA, Goman AM, Glynn NW, Gmelin T, Gravens-Mueller L, Hayden KM, Huang AR, Knopman D, Mitchell CM, Mosley T, Pankow JS, Reed NS, Sanchez V, Schrack JA, Windham BG, Coresh J; ACHIEVE Collaborative Research Group. Lancet. 2023 Jul 17:S0140-6736(23)01406-X. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01406-X. Online ahead of print. PMID: 37478886.
Laura Campos, Allan Prochazka, Melinda Anderson, Alexander Kaizer, Carol Foster, Timothy Hullar. Consistent hearing aid use is associated with lower fall prevalence and risk in older adults with hearing loss. October 2023.
Mahmoudi E, Zazove P, Meade M, McKee MM. Association Between Hearing Aid Use and Health Care Use and Cost Among Older Adults With Hearing Loss. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2018;144(6):498–505. doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2018.0273