Miracle-Ear will present a Healthy Hearing Seminar from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday at The Atrium at Serenity Point, 2803 Albert Pike. Call 520-4327 to reserve seating or for an appointment for a free onsite screening, space is limited.
Learn why it's important to take care of your hearing, how other illness can affect hearing, and about untreated hearing loss symptoms and dementia.
Seniors who have untreated hearing loss may be at an increased risk for developing dementia, a loss of brain function that can affect memory, thinking, language, judgment and behavior. This is the finding of a study conducted by researchers from the Division of Otology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
The study included 639 people whose hearing and cognitive abilities were tested over a period of time, starting in 1990 and concluding in 2008. Researchers found that study participants who had hearing loss at the beginning of the study were significantly more likely to develop dementia by the end of the study.
How might hearing loss and dementia be connected? Investigators aren't sure, but they think a common pathology may underlie both conditions, or possibly the strain of decoding sounds over the years may overwhelm the brains of people with hearing loss, leaving them more vulnerable to dementia.
The article concludes that, whatever the cause, these findings may offer a starting point for further research as to whether interventions, even as simple as hearing aids, could delay or prevent dementia by improving patients' hearing.
Business on 08/22/2016