Dementia and Hearing Loss are Tightly Linked

Getting older is difficult. So it may not seem like good news that hearing loss and dementia might be linked, but there is a silver lining here.

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Will Hearing Aids Help You Avoid Dementia?

[WeyounSix]

I believe this because we finally convinced my grandma with dementia to get hearing aids, and though she still has slow processing time, her ability to hear has sharpened her up quite a bit.

[TheLaughingPanda]

If only we could get grandma to admit that she needs hearing aids

[Praisethesunson]

Not being able to hear made my grandfather literally go mad for a solid 4 months(he got kicked out of quite a few public places for making scenes. He couldn't tell what was going on, get frustrated, and would explode)

He made a full recovery thanks to my deaf aunt.

She listens to music through feeling the vibrating in speakers.

She showed him how to listen to the vibrations in that song gimme shelter. Which is by one of his favorite bands.

After about a week of doing that with songs he knew. He stabilized and was "normal" again for the rest of his life. He still couldn't hear. But he had an outlet he was familiar with.

I wish there was a way to study something like that.

[MsAnubisia]

This is fascinating. There's a history of dementia and Alzheimer's on my dad's side of the family--and as he aged he got quieter, less talkative, seemed to struggle with focus and memory. I didn't understand why. Years later he got tested and finally got hearing aids and it was like the bubbly, sharp, humorous man I knew was back. It's only personal experience but it's wild to see this as a possible connection with his aging.

[xdsx]

I wonder if they could do a study with people who know sign language in order to figure out if it's caused by the decline in communication or a physical cause.

[BAValliere]

My grandmother was one of the most stable people I had in my life growing up. She was always calm, collected and so sweet. She never cursed. She developed geriatric psychosis due to her hearing loss. She would wander around the outside of her house at night in the middle of fall in New Hampshire because she was convinced her sister was trying to sell her house out from under her and those “jackasses” would take her house. It was more than enough to convince me to use hearing aids when I get older.

[jenmoores]

Insurance does NOT cover hearing aids in all but 3 states, so it is no wonder why in the US, dementia is so prevalent. Maybe proving this will encourage those companies to consider coverage. It's far less expensive than dementia care.

[LaviniaDeMortalium]

I wouldn't be surprised if the hearing aid thing panned out. My neighbor lived to be 96, but as she hit about 93ish, she refused to wear her hearing aids. And let me tell you, this woman was as sharp as they come - could kick your ass at poker, knew every answer on Wheel of Fortune, and regularly did the Sunday crossword and every Sudoku she could get her hands on when she wasn't putting on parties. But at some point she stopped wearing her hearing aids b/c they were uncomfortable, and I watched over a two year period as the woman I saw daily struggled to remember me, recall what day of the week it was, and generally became more foggy and unable to properly hold a conversation. It was heartbreaking. It could've been just old age, but there was such a rapid decline in her mental state that I swore I'd start wearing hearing aids the minute I needed them.

[myriamh.]

FYI for someone looking for a profession. Audiologists are often rare and are desperatly needed as we get older. Maybe it's a profession that is attractiv to you? Audiologists have a lovely mix in work between fitting hearing aids, counseling customers, conducting tests, programming hearing aids and in my country communicating with health insurances. As hearing loss is individual and the profession still advances it should be realtivly save from digitalisation.

[angeliquecollins]

I believe we should expand our focus beyond only those with hearing LOSS, and to also examine those who experience difficulty separating/focusing on ALL sounds around them. My hearing issues have been lifelong, and I clinically "passed" a hearing test (around age 30). However, this clinical setting is NOTHING like the real world that we exist in, and now at age 36 my care team diagnosed me with sensory processing issues (amongst other things)--- I am unable to drown out/process out unimportant or ambient noise in my environment, which causes a great deal of suffering when it comes to conversations. I suspect that this is more neurological than just hearing *loss*.

[qboger]

Gasp! One of my favorite channels is talking about my field!

This is a really well researched video! I think it’s an excellent intro to the topic! (Asside from most of the stock footage of hearing aids depicting hearing aids that are around 20 years old :D)

What would help most I think is making Medicare cover hearing aids. Private insurance companies wouldn’t like that though so they’ll try to prevent that from happening.

One caveat is that some hearing aid dispensers might cite the connection with dementia dishonestly in order to “sell” the hearing aids. IE, telling a borderline hearing aid candidate “If you don’t get these hearing aids right now, you will get dementia”. It’s not that simple of course, and it is something to keep in mind, but like any information it can be wielded dishonestly.

[Yoraeryu]

This might mean that the recent decision to allow hearing aids to be OTC could help a lot more people stave off dementia for longer

[Sashazur]

I'm 60 and have been wearing hearing aids for several years. They aren’t perfect but I wouldn’t want to be without them. Based on my experience & research here’s some advice (note I'm in the USA and some of this may not translate to other countries):

- Hearing aids won’t restore normal hearing, compared to the way glasses can restore normal vision. They certainly help but I still have problems with certain people's voices especially in noisy environments. Also they make my mild tinnitus less noticeable and let me hear many more environmental sounds like crickets and birds.

- They need to be worn all day, every day; not just when visiting people or going to the movies etc. This ensures your brain adjusts and you get the maximum benefit.

- Cheap "hearing aids" are just amplifiers. To be real hearing aids they need to be programmed for your specific hearing loss based on a hearing test, and fitted to the size and shape of your ears. This is usually done at an audiologist office but some now let you test & program with an app, and they can send you the bits that fit your ears if needed.

- The FDA recently approved over the counter hearing aids which let you skip going to a professional to get them. It’s helped to reduce prices, but it’s just starting, so for now it can still be confusing to figure out if what you're shopping for is legit vs. a cheap amplifier. As of early 2023 if it’s under a few hundred USD that’s pretty sketchy. Do your research!

- If you can, it’s a good idea to see an audiologist when you first notice hearing loss. There are a bunch of things which can cause it, some as easy to fix as earwax, and all that you would hopefully want to know about. This is especially true if you’re young, or your hearing loss came on quickly, or is only in one ear, or affects low frequencies, or includes other symptoms.

- Most hearing aids look better or are less noticeable than the ones in the video. Behind the ear models usually are smaller and have a thin wire instead of a tube, or you can get less obvious in-ear ones. You also usually can choose from a range of colors to match your skin or hair.

- If you want hearing aids that can stream audio and do hands free calls, you'll need to pay extra - and music quality may not be great. iPhone users who want to stream should get hearing aids that are designated MFI (Apple approved) which integrate better with iOS.

- Lower cost hearing aids use disposable batteries that last anywhere from a few days to a week or so. More expensive ones are rechargeable and go for a day or two on a charge, and are much more convenient (esp. for those who may have trouble replacing tiny batteries). Streaming significantly increases power usage.

- One good place to get hearing aids is Costco, they carry several brands and their prices are significantly less for equivalent hearing aids to those you can get elsewhere. I’m on my 2nd pair from them I've been happy with them.

- Nearly every place that sells hearing aids offers a generous evaluation period during which you can return them for a full refund. The price often also includes at least several months of free adjustments and one time free replacement of lost hearing aids.

- Related to the above, if you know someone who has hearing aids but isn't using them, find out why. Maybe they’re broken or the batteries are a hassle, maybe they need adjusting (most can be reprogrammed if your hearing loss changes), maybe they don’t fit well or they look bad. It’s possible and worth it to fix any of these problems!

[SoggyCoffeeAddict]

Seems to be true, my uncle has like. 5-8 brothers (I'm bad at keeping track okay? Don't judge), and out of all of them. He's the only one who "wussied out" and got hearing aids, he loves them because it syncs to his phone and he can control his phone from afar, have private calls, etc (even if they aren't 100%, trust me. Bob, Bob, BOB, BOB! 😂) But he's the only one out of them who isn't diagnosed with dementia out of his brothers, he's the 3rd oldest (so either middle child or one of the older ones). He said the earliest any of his brothers was diagnosed was 68, and the oldest was 75. He's 77

[mamoonali]

As a student of Audiology and Speech Language Therapy, there are some piece of information that must have been mentioned in the video, however the video itself is great. The thing is that Hearing tests like PTA are also followed by Speech Threshold/ Understanding tests like SRT, SATs etc. They give a percentage as to how much an individual is able to understand, as PTA tests assess your hearing thresholds, whereas Speech Audiometry assess your understanding score, understanding is related to hearing, but they are not the same. Any score under 80% has much higher risk of Social Isolation, and in some cases are recommended to go to Cochlear Implant rather than hearing aid, even if their hearing thresholds might easily get covered with a hearing aid. Anyways, Speech and Language ability in some researches is actually directly linked to Cognitive ability, and most of assessment and intervention plans of Speech therapy are based on these cognitive related abilities like play stages etc. Therefore, as Hearing Loss occurs it causes decreased Language Stimulation of the brain and reduced ability to communicate effectively and efficiently, therefore causing a higher strain of brain to focus on the auditory stimuli, and there are a lot of auditory skills required in order to hear effectively in different environments, like in Noise vs Quiet, close vs far etc. Thus, when Language Stimulation decreases, it also causes added strain, and reduced cognitive abilities, as now experiences also become limited to visual, tactile, and other senses. Thus, indirectly leading to dementia. All of this information is mostly conceptual based and some information is mentioned in books, like Language disorder by Rhea Paul. And, you also mentioned that PTA thresholds are not yet decided, because the reason is that hearing thresholds are also based on other tests like Speech Audiometry tests, Aided vs Unaided and more.

[FosterBaba]

I wonder how this compares to people who have been deaf all their lives. Later in life. Or at an age too young to remember, but old enough for the body to remember

[thedramaqueen]

Thank you so much for making this video! My dad (70) has been really worried about possibly being at the beginning stages of dementia. He has been hard of hearing for the vast majority of my life. The past few years his memory has gotten worse. He recently got hearing aids and to say they have been life changing is an understatement! This is great information. I am excited to show him this video. I know he will find it very interesting and comforting knowing that he's on the right track by being proactive about his hearing loss!

[michelleroxy]

misread the title initially as “will hearing aids help you avoid december?” and i was momentarily super intrigued, to say the least.

[melodyszadkowski]

If I could afford hearing aids I would get them. Always thought the vanity arguement was silly. No one thinks less of people wearing glasses for sight loss so why should they care about hearing aids? Anything that would drown out the tinnitus I would jump on in a heartbeat.

[LeoAngora]

If true, preventing dementia by correcting hearing loss will be game changing and very impactful.