Connection between hearing loss & mild cognitive impairment?

Medical literature is making an associative connection with hearing loss and mci. Researchers are also noting that hearing loss advances the impairment especially in early alzheimers.
A person can appear cognitively impaired when they can't hear. And of course, not hearing impairs the ability to understand. I've seen individuals who appear cured when they finally are fitted with good hearing aids.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frdem.2023.1199319/full

Well I know that the two are definitely connected. If you have hearing loss, this is one of the most important reasons for getting a hearing aid if it is determined you need one.

The neuropsychologist was adamant about the correlation. I think to imply causation is a stretch.

More Cows die in the summer
More ice cream is eaten in the summer
Ergo… eating ice cream kills cows

I find it very frustrating and annoying when someone insists I get a hearing aid instead of turning down their radio or repeating the word I am miss-hear...I would do this for them and did do this for my deceased husband for many years. He wasted $$$ getting hearing aids that he hated; that made voices sound weird and strange(including his own when he spoke)....so I would sit beside him and help in public situations and was fine.....It feels very unfair that not many people including family are not prepared to do this for me...I don't have $$$ to waste. I now see people on an individual basis on the proviso that they be understanding and tolerant...it really separates the wheat from the chaff so that I don't waste my time and have more time to paint. I am 85yr old and so don't have all the time in the world to waste...Sorry, a bit of a rant but feeling pissed off at unhelpful people with no idea of $$$ or budgets ...precious time. Thank you for listening

There is a considerable amount of research related to hearing loss effects, including the potential for cognitive decline. Think about the behaviors that people often experience when their hearing starts to decline. There is frustration, fear, fatigue, anger, sadness, denial. Those emotions are often followed by loneliness, isolation, social withdrawal, etc. Those negative feelings are closely related to depression. Depression can end up with serious consequences. Among those may be an appearance of not caring, not thinking, etc. That can appear to be cognitive decline. It may or may not be.

It didn't take long for the hearing aid industry to jump on the bandwagon by promoting the concept that 'untreated' hearing loss leads to cognitive decline. Does it? We really do not know.

Just recently, I had the opportunity to listen to a presentation by Dr. Nicholas Reed PhD AuD from Johns Hopkins. He has done extensive research on this topic and how it relates to life. Also how important it is for people in the medical professions to talk to their patients about hearing and hearing loss. To do that effectively, those professionals need to better understand what goes on when someone who has had typical hearing all their life starts experiencing the emotions mentioned above. Unfortunately, this common issue is not often addressed at primary care appointments unless the patient brings it up. Too often the patient is in denial or affected by the stigmas related to hearing loss and aging and refuses to talk about it.

Hearing loss affects more than 50 million Americans, yet fewer than 20% of that number use hearing technology. Most have never tried it. Yes, there are reasons and cost is a big one. Also, there is data that shows that a person who is unhappy with a hearing aid will tell anyone who will listen how unhelpful they are. While the one who is happy with the help hearing aids provide doesn't say anything because they are hiding it.

Of course not everyone is like this, but it's typical. Does hearing loss cause dementia or cognitive decline? We don't really know for sure. We know there are major life changes when a person cannot hear well. We also know there is help for hearing loss whether it be through hearing aids, cochlear implants, hearing assistive technology or other kinds of treatment that might come in the future, it helps to be open to learning and to the possibilities.

I don’t know what instrument your husband used, and when, but as a hearing aid wearer for 20+ years, I can tell you that the technology has vastly improved since I started with them, and I would urge you not to dismiss them as a helpful tool that allows you to communicate. It’s not always easy to get the fitting right: sometimes the instrument is the problem; sometimes it’s changes in your hearing; and sometimes it’s the environment that thwarts your hearing and the instrument.

But the key to good mental health is keeping up your relationships. People are more inclined to help you if they know you are trying to help yourself. When you get isolated, your cognitive abilities do not thrive.

The despair and frustration you are expressing here is a little concerning, and I would urge you to get with your doctor and explore the hearing technologies that are now available.

As far as the expense is concerned, would you refuse to pay for something to help you walk, or breathe, or eat? Why would you shortchange yourself on a device that allows you to communicate, a necessary function to preserve your mental health? Use credit cards with several interest-free months to break the cost into manageable small payments. Bank of America has one, and so does Discover. We’re talking about an expenditure for health, cognition, and quality of life. Not a luxury but a necessity.

My father refused to admit he was losing his hearing over a period of 20 years, and that refusal was very destructive to my parents’ marriage and health. I think it had a role in advancing my mother’s vascular dementia due to her daily blood pressure spikes out of her frustration in interacting with him.

Although he eventually allowed himself to be fitted with hearing aids, he had by then grown used to a soundless world, and could never adjust to them, so usually would not wear them. There can be no doubt that the prolonged silence and isolation took a toll on his mental health and cognition.

So let’s not confuse ourselves about this. The research does not pertain to people who “appear cognitively impaired when they can’t hear” and who “appear cured” when they get hearing aids. The researchers are talking about people who let their hearing go for a long time, like my dad.

@ner, thank you for telling this sad history.
While I'm not familiar with this research, it makes common sense.

I have worn hearing aids for several years. I am on my third set of hearing aids. My hearing tests on paper shows a graph with both ears going downhill to 98. I think at 100 means you cannot hear anything. Is this right?

So, I went to a birthday party for my grandson and could not participate in the conversation as I could not hear anything. I can hear one person if the look directly at me and yell. I feel like never going to another group outing. I have already quit going to church and Bible Study. I have told people to text me, don't call on the phone. I can't hear my own son. He talks so low.

Thank you for sharing your dad's story. It's a common story, but people need to hear it more often. A reality: When someone in a family (or relationship) has a hearing loss; everyone in that family (or relationship) lives with hearing loss. We who have it are frustrated. Those who communicate with us are too. The longer we are in denial about it the more frustrated everyone gets.

The longer the brain goes without hearing well, the harder it is for the brain to interpret speech because the hair cells in the cochlear start to deteriorate. This is typical of sensorineural hearing loss. Waiting for years to get hearing aids will likely make them difficult to get used to or even to use well.

It begins with losing the consonant sounds. Those sounds define speech. The vowels give it power/volume. Try this. Copy a paragraph from a familiar document. Then eliminate these letters and combinations: s, f, th, cr, sh, v, ph, Ask someone with normal hearing to read that paragraph aloud and time them.

With a familiar reading such as the first paragraph of The Gettysburg Address, it will take them nearly twice as long to read it than it will take to read when it's complete, even if they have it memorized. As hearing gets worse, more sounds become garbled even when spoken loudly.

We are constantly trying to fill in the blanks. We have a better chance when we are aware of the subject matter. However, in general conversation that context changes rapidly and we, the person with HL can easily speak out of context. That makes us look stupid and out of it. So, it's easy to simply tune out and not participate. That makes us look like we can't think.

It is so important for people who associate with us to understand that we cannot hear from another room. We need to see the face of the person who is speaking. We cannot hear and understand speech when there is background noise. We get exhausted trying so fatigue is a big issue. When we're tired we tune out.

Are there some solutions? Yes. You can help by understanding this. Turn off the TV or music. Fill us in on the topic of conversation when we appear to be confused or speak out of context. Encourage us to get hearing help. That comes from technology and also from associating with other people who have hearing loss. Mutual help and understanding is priceless.

I have used hearing aids since the late 1970s. They have improved considerably. However, they do not correct hearing loss. I learned about HLAA in the mid 1980s. Meeting other people with hearing loss gave me back my life. I learned about assistive technology through HLAA. I had no idea that there were assistive listening systems that could be used in group settings. I watched the development and acceptance of cochlear implants and received a cochlear implant in 2005. It has been an incredible improvement for me.

We are all different, so my story may not be your story. However, it's a story that tells people to learn, to be open to learning in the first place, to reach out to help others and to advocate for the right to hear in public venues. The hearing assistive technology I embrace includes FM systems, Infrared Systems and Hearing Loops. Also captioning and automatic speech recognition. (ASR) These technologies work with hearing aids and cochlear implants, but they go beyond them. They are priceless! Why don't providers and professionals tell us about them? What do you think?

Again, I mention HLAA because that is where I have learned 99% of what I've learned. It has not come from the sources we expect it to come from. It's come from other people who get it because they live with it. HLAA is The Hearing Loss Assn. of America. Chapters are located around the country, and anyone can start a chapter if they are interested. Lots of information at the organization's website. http://www.hearingloss.org

Living WELL with hearing loss is possible, but you have to learn the ropes and be open and willing to learn them. Time to get rid of the beliefs that tell us to deny it, hide it and not talk about it. 🙂 Are you ready?