MISSOULA — November is Alzheimer's Awareness Month, and while the disease is not always preventable, there are some steps to keep your brain working properly and prolong your health.
MTN News talked with Missoula audiologist Dr. Lynn Harris of Western Montana Hearing and Speech about the connection between brain function and hearing loss.
Over her past 42 years of practicing audiology, Dr. Harris has provided hearing tests for people with ages ranging from newborn babies to elderly men and women.
“One of my favorite stories is about my patient who was 99 and a half and came in to get new hearing aids so she could hear her birthday party,” Dr. Harris said.
When asked why she chose to dedicate four decades of her life to audiology, Dr. Harris said it's the challenge of helping people have a better life that she loves — and that hearing helps people have a better life.
“Hearing connects you with the world,” Dr. Harris said. “It’s very important to be connected with the people around you and being able to clearly understand what they’re saying enhances everybody’s quality of life.”
Dr. Harris explained the less connection you have with others is one risk factor surrounding the loss of brain function and stimulation.
"We know there's a lot of things that go into keeping our brains healthy and working well. One of the things on that list is social engagement," Dr. Harris said. “Social engagement keeps our brains young and healthy and working well. If you’ve got hearing loss, and you can’t hear to happily socially engaged, then it would follow that hearing loss isn’t good for your brain because it limits social function.”
Hearing loss has been linked with cognitive decline such as memory loss, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease. However, there’s no compelling evidence that hearing loss independently affects the level of dementia, according to Harris.
“There are about 13 risk factors for developing dementia. Thirteen risk factors that we can control for. Hearing loss is one of those things,” Dr. Harris explains.
The 13 modifiable risk factors for dementia are below, according to Harris.
- Air pollution
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Early life education
- Hypertension
- Hearing loss
- More than 21 servings of alcohol per week
- Obesity
- Physical inactivity
- Smoking
- Social isolation
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Other health conditions
Resources like audiologists and hearing aids can help those with hearing loss and other related health issues understand how to lower their cognitive load, according to Dr. Harris.
“Cognitive load is how much energy it takes for you to process information. As we get older, cognitive load becomes really important. If you have hearing loss, it takes more energy to understand what you're hearing, so your cognitive load gets higher.”
Dr. Harris explained some indications that you may have hearing loss are dizziness, headaches, and vision changes.
However, anyone experiencing those symptoms should see a primary care physician first. The top two indications that you might need to get your hearing checked are a change in hearing and ringing noises in your ear, according to Dr. Harris.
“I would encourage people to listen to their family. The odds are, if your family says you're not hearing very well, you’re probably not. The other thing related to hearing loss is tinnitus. Tinnitus is a word that means ear noises, ringing, buzzing, humming, chirping," Dr. Harris said. "If you have those noises in your ear, the odds are pretty high that there’s some hearing loss. The two things that are highly correlated to ringing in your ears are hearing loss and noise exposure.”
In addition to turning down the headphone volume and limiting noise exposure with protective ear products, Dr. Harris said now is a perfect time to start taking preventative measures for your future self regardless of your current health status.
“We need to make some lifestyle modifications to make sure that we're going to have a good, long, healthy productive life. That’s stuff like being active, managing health conditions like diabetes and obesity and hypertension, and managing hearing. All of those things are going to give us a better life for the long haul, whether we have dementia or Alzheimer's or other kinds of cognitive function,” Dr. Harris concluded.
