LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – There’s a health spiral associated with hearing loss.
Hearing loss has more impacts on an elderly person than you might think.
Whether it’s your dad, your grandmother, your spouse, or even you, we all know someone who suffers from age-related hearing loss. In fact, 50 percent of people older than 75 experience disabling hearing loss. Now, doctors are using cochlear implants to restore hearing and save lives.
102-year-old Irvin Poff survived WWII but is still feeling the impact 80 years later.
Ear surgeon, Akira Ishiyama, MD, says, “In the past, when you’re flying a bomber, there really wasn’t any concept of hearing protection. Hearing loss, in this age group, is quite important to treat because it could deteriorate the dementia or make the dementia worse.”
A new study found people over 75 with hearing loss are nearly twice as likely to develop dementia and lose their cognitive abilities up to 40 percent more quickly than people without a hearing problem.
Until recently, someone Poff’s age would not be considered for a cochlear implant, which is a small electronic device that electrically stimulates the cochlear nerve, but now, he’s become one of the oldest people to receive this life-changing technology.
“We also have a technology to combine the use of a hearing aid and a cochlear implant called the hybrid technology. By doing both taking advantage of the hearing aid and an implant, we can help patients who have some hearing in a low frequency, but no hearing in the mid and higher frequencies.”
The combination of the two technologies took Poff’s hearing from 30 to 60 percent.
“My understanding of words is almost twice what it was before,” Poff explains.
Dementia is not the only risk factor associated with hearing loss. If you suffer mild hearing loss you are three times more likely to fall, suffer from cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and depression.
Contributors to this news report include: Marsha Lewis, Producer.
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Sources:
https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/quick-statistics-hearing
MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS
RESEARCH SUMMARY
TOPIC: HEARING LOSS HEALTH SPIRAL: COCHLEAR IMPLANTS AND DEMENTIA
REPORT: MB #5038
BACKGROUND: Hearing loss is the loss of hearing in one or both ears, ranging from mild to profound. There are many causes, and it can affect anyone at any age, but it’s most common among people older than 60. Statistics show that about 16% of U.S. adults have hearing loss, and it’s twice as common as diabetes or cancer. About one out of five men and one out of eight women report they have at least some trouble hearing. It can make the brain work harder, forcing it to strain to hear and fill in the gaps. That comes at the expense of other thinking and memory systems. Some research suggests that hearing loss leads people to be less socially engaged, which is hugely important to remaining intellectually stimulated. If you can’t hear very well, you may not go out as much, so the brain is less engaged and active.
(Source: https://www.healthyhearing.com/help/hearing-loss
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2021/hearing-loss-and-the-dementia-connection)
DIAGNOSING: The symptoms of hearing loss depend on the type you have—and the severity. A person with mild hearing loss in both ears, for example, experiences sound differently than a person with a profound hearing loss in just one ear. Signs and symptoms of hearing loss may include muffling of speech and other sounds, difficulty understanding words, especially in a crowd, withdrawal from conversations, avoidance of some social settings. Tests to diagnose hearing loss may include a physical exam, general screening tests, app-based hearing tests, tuning fork tests, and audiometer tests.
(Source: https://www.healthyhearing.com/help/hearing-loss/symptoms
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20373077)
NEW TECHNOLOGY: Hearing loss technology has come a long way since the first hearing aid was created in 1898. Technological advancements can help make living with hearing loss easier for the more than 48 million people experiencing hearing loss in the United States. Here are six new and emerging hearing loss technologies to watch: Bluetooth and wireless connectivity, music and bone conduction technology, speech-to-text apps, hearing aid advancements, captioned telephones, and AI assistance.
(Source: https://www.captel.com/2019/01/new-and-emerging-hearing-loss-technologies/)
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT, PLEASE CONTACT:
Elaine Schmidt
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