Hearing aids do more than just help you hear. Hearing aids also help your brain stay fit and active. According to July 30th, 2020 Report by the Lancet Commission: Dementia Prevention, Intervention and Care, modifying 12 risk factors from childhood to late life could delay or prevent 40% of dementia cases. These lifestyle factors can be adjusted in order to reduce one’s risk for developing dementia.
The Brain Forgets Sounds
Untreated hearing loss not only affects your hearing and your quality of life, it also affects the brain's ability to remember common everyday sounds. he brain's hearing core does store sounds and noises for some years following the onset of a hearing loss. But after a period of inactivity, the memory becomes weaker and weaker. When the hearing nerves lose their function, the hearing channels are no longer effectively used and do not send signals to the brain. This causes the brain to 'forget' certain sounds over time and becomes unable to understand these sounds.
How Hearing Aids May Support Your Brain?
Hearing aids support your brain function by helping you to process the sounds, which helps to stimulate brain. Beyond basic brain function, keeping your brain active can help you in other ways.
Scientific studies have found that the brain's processing of sound is not the only thing that is affected by an untreated hearing loss. The hearing loss also affects cognition and may result in cognitive decline and even dementia or earlier onset of dementia.
When you have hearing loss, it also takes extra effort to keep up with conversations. This can lead to avoiding social situations and enhance feelings of isolation. Once you wear hearing aids, you can feel "re-connected" to the world around you, and you can feel more at ease to participate in social gathering and other activities.
Treat Your Hearing Loss
That's why it is important for your brain to have your hearing tested and start using hearing aids if needed when you find out that you are losing some of your hearing.
Once you start using hearing aids, the hearing processing resumes, supplying signals to the brain. In this way, your hearing will improve but you will also keep your brain fit and active. But the longer you wait, the more difficult it is to be able to hear again and activate the parts in the brain that pick up and process sounds.
