If you had the potential to prevent or lessen the risk of cognitive decline as you grew older, how much would you be willing to pay for it?
What would you say to 15 dollars per week? That’s about the cost of an expertly-programmed set of hearing aids, which the newest research demonstrates can reduce the risk of developing cognitive decline in seniors with hearing loss.
Hearing Loss and Cognitive Decline
A recent study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society indicates that “self-reported hearing loss is associated with accelerated cognitive decline in older adults; hearing aid use attenuates such decline.”
The study shadowed 3,670 adults age 65 and older during a 25 year duration. The study found that the rate of cognitive decline was steeper in those with hearing loss when compared to those with normal hearing. But the participants with hearing loss who utilized hearing aids demonstrated no difference in the level of cognitive decline compared with those with normal hearing.
Numerous studies out of Johns Hopkins University have also established that hearing loss is associated with more rapid cognitive decline, depression, and in some cases even dementia.
So, hearing loss can bring on hastened rates of cognitive decline, but wearing hearing aids can protect against this decline. The question is, how does hearing loss result in cognitive decline?
A generally recognized theory is that hearing loss has a tendency to limit social interaction and stimulation to the auditory region of the brain, bringing about changes in brain chemistry and structure. These modifications are thought to account for the decline in cognitive function as well as the onset of depressive signs and symptoms.
Hearing Loss and Mortality
Another study out of Johns Hopkins University analyzed 1,666 adults age 70 or older who had received a hearing test. The participants were put into three groups: (1) no hearing loss, (2) mild hearing loss, and (3) moderate to severe hearing loss. Then, mortality was evaluated for each group, with the following results, as announced by Johns Hopkins researchers:
“Interestingly, after adjusting for demographic characteristics and cardiovascular risk factors, their results suggested that moderate or more severe hearing loss was associated with a 39% increased risk of mortality, while a mild hearing loss had a 21% increased risk of mortality, compared to those with normal hearing.”
This is not to imply that hearing loss directly affects mortality rates, but rather that the consequences of hearing loss can. Hearing loss has been shown to produce cognitive decline and reduced levels of social interaction and physical activity. This brings about changes to the brain and reduced physical and social activity levels, which more clearly can influence mortality rates.
Hearing Aids Can Help
The real price of hearing loss, then, is far more than simply inconvenience or missing out on a few conversations. Hearing loss could mean sacrificing your mental, physical, and social health—and possibly even your life.
As additional research is published, and as we come to be more educated on the real costs of hearing loss, $15 per week for a pair of premium hearing aids will seem like nothing at all.