Hearing Loss & Memory

Hearing loss and its relationship to memory is yet another piece to the puzzle highlighting the importance of how healthy hearing leads to a healthier brain.

The more effort your brain needs to focus, comprehend and interpret conversation or sound, the less ability you have to add “remember” in the mix of the other efforts.

When hearing health is addressed and improved, patients have the potential to remember 20% more of their conversations, 20% less effort in their listening, and increase their speech understanding by 30%.

Recent studies have shown that “following conversation in noisy situations” is the number one challenge for people with hearing loss.  Additionally, many patients with hearing loss experience tinnitus, which is the perception of ringing, buzzing, hissing, or other irritant noises.  This is yet another distractor for your brain, that takes away from the ability to comprehend and remember.

What to do:

    • Be proactive. Everyone should have a baseline hearing test upon turning 50 years old if any changes in hearing occur.
    • Take action. Early symptoms of memory issues could directly relate to hearing loss. Don’t wait for the symptoms to get worse or for a misdiagnosis. Get your hearing checked.
    • Wear your device. If you were diagnosed with hearing loss, the best thing you can do is continually wear your device. This will help to take stress away from your brain, improve memory, and make you feel less fatigued at the end of the day.

 

The treatment of hearing loss with appropriately fit hearing aids may help reduce your memory issues.

A baseline hearing test is recommended for all individuals over 50 years old.​ Make an appointment to have your hearing tested today.

Currently, wearing hearing aids? ​Schedule an appointment to have your hearing re-tested and your hearing aids reprogrammed and verified.

You can also learn more about the next level of memory issues in relation to hearing loss, by visiting our Hearing Loss & Dementia page.