Study: Hearing Loss and Dementia Connected (Lyndi Hofstra)

If you knew something could help you, would you do it?

If you knew something could help someone you love, would you ask them to do it?

Dr Frank Lin, medical doctor and assistant professor in the Division of Otology at John Hopkins University has discovered something that can help many people.

Moderate to severe hearing loss increases the risk of developing Dementia which can lead to Alzheimer’s disease.

Treating moderate to severe hearing loss can help lessen problems of communication for those affected by Dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Dr.Lin states in the article “Hearing Loss and Dementia Linked in Study – 2/14/2011”, John Hopkins Medicine,

Researchers have looked at what affects hearing loss, but few have looked at how hearing loss affects cognitive brain function. There hasn’t been much crosstalk between otologists and geriatricians, so it’s been unclear whether hearing loss and dementia are related. Hearing loss and dementia were still strongly connected (in the results of the study). A lot of people ignore hearing loss because it’s such a slow and insidious process as we age. Even if people feel as if they are not affected, we’re showing that it may be a more serious problem.
A University of Southern Florida study found that 94% of those diagnosed with memory loss also had uncorrected hearing loss. In order for something to be remembered, it must first be heard. (Hearing Health Center 9/21/2011}

The American Medical Association said that hearing loss correlates significantly with the level of cognitive decline in adults. (Hearing Health Center 9/21/2011)

Isn’t this great news? A breakthrough in research that can help millions of people! Finally the heart wrenching slow moving debilitating process of watching a loved one loose their ability to recognize family, be safe in their surroundings, and care for themselves in their own homes, these travesties may lessen. Everyone touched by Dementia and Alzheimer’s pays a high price in loss of ability to communicate and live an active fulfilling life. When a family member starts to loose their ability to communicate because they cannot hear conversations, the isolation begins. Sergio Kochin from the BHI, the Better Hearing Institute, confirms that isolation leads to depression. The depressed person begins to disconnect from the world and it becomes difficult to assess
what is a lack of cognitive function vs. the lack of the ability to hear. Hearing loss and dementia are now related.

This research by Dr Lin and others provides all of us with a simple task: get your hearing tested!

Here is a simple Three Step Process

• Assess your hearing with a hearing health care professional.
• Meet with your regular doctor concerning dementia
• Treat the hearing loss with hearing aids.
• Be proactive about your health and the health of your loved ones.

Lyndi Sue Hofstra MA,BC-HIS
Hofstra Family Hearing
Palos Heights, Illinois