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If you're someone with hearing problems, here’s the good news. A new study has found that using hearing aids can drastically lower your risk of developing dementia to about 42%.
Published in The Lancet Public Health, the study claims that people who're facing hearing loss and don’t use a hearing aid are more likely to develop dementia compared to people who use these aids or have no hearing loss problems.
So, if you’ve always needed but avoided hearing aids, this could be an additional reason to use one.
Hearing aids and dementia: What’s the study all about?
Several studies have indicated that hearing loss may be linked to at least 8% of dementia cases worldwide and whether or not hearing aids could reduce the risk remained unsolved.
However, now a new study has come up that claims that hearing aids are a must if you want to lower risk of dementia. The study examined data from the UK Biobank with records of around 4,37,000 people, among whom approximately 1,11,000 had hearing loss, and among them, only 13,000 people used a hearing aid.
The result showed that people with hearing loss who did not use hearing aids had a 1.7% risk of getting dementia. However, with a hearing device, they can lower the risk to the same level as people who do not have hearing loss, which is about 1.2%.
According to researchers, not using a hearing aid plays a much major role in dementia compared to other factors like depression, social isolation and anxiety. They believe that the new study provides the best evidence to suggest that hearing aids can be a cost-effective and invasive treatment to reduce potential impact of hearing loss on dementia.
Why are hearing aids important?
According to medical experts, these devices can prevent brain cells from degenerating by helping them maintain auditory stimulation. They may also allow the brain to process all kinds of sounds more efficiently.
These devices may also allow patients with hearing loss to remain socially active in a variety of activities, which may reduce symptoms of depression and loneliness as well as dementia in the long run.
What is dementia?
Dementia is the loss of all kinds of cognitive functions, like remembering and thinking. It leads to memory loss, severely affects social abilities and interferes with daily life. In fact, some people with dementia also face problems controlling their emotions, which leads to personality changes.
Dementia is more common in older adults, and it’s estimated that about one-third of people aged 85 or above may have some type of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.
What are the signs and symptoms of dementia?
Some common signs and symptoms include:
- memory loss and confusion
- difficulty in expressing thoughts
- difficulty speaking, writing, or reading
- repeating words and statements
- wandering alone without any reason
- acting aggressively
- experiencing mobility problems
Experiencing hearing loss? Get a hearing aid today
If you're concerned that you may be experiencing some sort of hearing loss, it's best to consult a doctor to have your hearing tested and get a hearing aid as early as possible to prevent serious complications.
