Our bodily functions start to slow down or decline as the decades go by. This can take the form of a slower metabolism, lower bone density, hair loss, or reduced vision and hearing. Some of these changes happen a lot faster than others due to overall health, and environmental factors. Nevertheless, we are all bound to age at some point.
Age is one of the most common causes of hearing loss. According to the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), approximately 15% of Americans experience some degree of hearing loss. Hearing loss is also more prevalent in the 60-69 age group.
As we learn more about the connections between hearing loss and aging, it becomes more apparent that the structural changes that accompany aging contribute to cognitive decline. What experts struggle to understand is what long-term treatment options can reduce the risk of cognitive decline, and other symptoms such as tinnitus.
A 2020 study in the Frontiers of Neuroscience suggests that the use of hearing aids and cochlear implants could help decrease the risk of cognitive decline in humans. To date, it is the first of its kind to look at how the brain’s response to sound changes after using hearing aids in patients with mild to moderate hearing loss. We’ll explore this theory to learn more about neuroplasticity, and how hearing loss can affect the brain.
How Does Hearing Loss Affect the Brain?
Healthy aging isn’t just about living longer. It’s making sure we are well, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Adopting a healthy lifestyle is key to healthy aging. It can help delay cognitive decline, making it more difficult to remember, think, speak, and perform daily tasks, thereby postponing the onset of conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Luckily, modern research has identified certain modifiable risk factors that can help to prevent these things from happening, and promote a healthy brain. One of these modifiable risk factors is hearing loss.
Left untreated, hearing loss leads to auditory deprivation. In other words, the auditory brain is not receiving the same amount of stimulus it once did. When this happens, it can cause changes in brain structure and function, modifying the way the brain works. Important resources are diverted to processing the degraded auditory inputs, leaving fewer resources for memory, concentration, attention, and overall cognitive function.
Neuroplasticity and the Cognitive Benefits of Hearing Aids
Hearing loss fact: 3 in 10 adults over the age of 50 have Age-related hearing loss (ARHL), or presbycusis. It is also the third leading chronic health condition among aging adults.
The 2020 study involved 41 patients, some with age-related tinnitus, others with normal hearing. It looked at the neuroplasticity in our cognition and how it is related to mild to moderate levels of hearing loss.
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to adapt and reorganize itself in response to sensory input or deprivation. (As previously mentioned, the parts of the brain responsible for hearing are repurposed for non-auditory tasks such as vision or touch.) The study also explored the neurocognitive benefits of wearing hearing aids.
Researchers used high-density electroencephalography (EEG) to record visual responses (CVEPs) to stimuli, with the goal of finding the link between visual cortical neuroplasticity, speech perception, and cognitive function. Afterwards, the patients were fitted with hearing aids, to see how improving hearing with amplification affected cognitive outcomes.
This EEG map illustrates cortical changes in people with normal hearing when compared to those with untreated hearing loss. On the normal hearing column, the auditory processing regions are active. In contrast, the hearing loss column shows a dramatic shift in brain activity with auditory functions being taken over by visual processing. This is called crossmodal reorganization, and in this instance, the auditory brain compensates for the lack of auditory input with an increase in visual and somatosensory activity.
Within six months, restoring sound through hearing aids seemed to reverse some of these effects, returning the auditory cortex to normal function and enhancing cognitive and speech perception. The key, according to the study, is early intervention. The study found that even mild hearing loss can accelerate cognitive decline if left untreated. Hearing aids can slow this process by restoring auditory input to the brain, and maintaining our cognitive function.
Hearing Aids
Hearing aids are designed to help treat those with varying degrees of hearing loss by amplifying sounds and making them easier to hear. These devices are made up of a microphone (to detect sounds and convert them to electrical signals), an amplifier (to process and amplify the signals), and a receiver (to convert the electrical signals to sound waves and deliver them to the ear). Modern hearing aids come with customizable features that are tailored to patient needs.
Types of Hearing Aids
Choosing the right hearing aid depends on a number of factors. First, an audiologist will need to assess your hearing health and determine the extent of your hearing loss. Other factors such as special features, budget, style, and lifestyle factors play a big role in choosing the right hearing aids. Some of the most popular types of hearing aids include:
- In the ear (ITE)– These hearing aids fit directly in the outer ear, filling most of the outer portion of the ear. They’re easy to operate, but they don’t offer the discretion of invisible hearing aids. Their size also allows them to have longer battery life.
- Behind the ear canal (BTE)– As the name suggests, BTE hearing aids sit behind the ears and are connected with plastic tubing to a custom earmold or earbud. Mini BTEs, or receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing aids are smaller, and connect to the earpiece with wire instead of plastic tubing.
- In the canal (ITC) and Completely in the canal (CIC)– These hearing aids are molded to fit inside the ear canal. ITC hearing aids fit partially in the ear canal while CIC hearing aids fit completely in the ear canal. Their small size makes them discreet, but it also means it has a smaller battery which holds less power. These types of hearing aids are also susceptible to ear wax blockages, which can clog the speakers and worsen symptoms of tinnitus.
Benefits of Hearing Aids
Hearing aids are known to improve hearing and communication. Now, we also know they can be useful in preventing cognitive decline caused by hearing loss. Hearing aids are also useful for reducing the mental stress and frustration that comes with hearing loss.
Wearing hearing aids can reduce social isolation and open up one’s social life to new friends, hobbies, and experiences. They can restore confidence, and improve one’s emotional well-being. Hearing aids are also important safety devices, and can help alert one to alarms and dangers such as oncoming traffic or a smoke detector.
Several studies have highlighted a link between hearing loss and tinnitus. Some people are believed to have a “hidden hearing loss” that isn’t detectable on regular hearing tests. Oftentimes, treating even a mild hearing loss could help reduce tinnitus symptoms. These days, many hearing aids come with tinnitus features built-in to help interfere with the tinnitus, as well as restore the auditory input that can cause tinnitus symptoms to appear. Modern hearing aids can be programmed by an audiologist to best meet individual hearing needs.
Other Hearing Loss Treatments
Hearing aids are considered a staple for treating hearing loss. While some patients can successfully manage with just that, others need additional/alternative treatments to manage their hearing loss, and in turn, maintain cognitive and overall health. These include:
- Cochlear implants– These are surgically implanted devices that are used to manage more severe instances of hearing loss. Cochlear implants work by bypassing the damaged part of the ear, and delivering sound directly to the auditory nerve.
- Sound therapy– Hearing loss is sometimes accompanied by tinnitus, or ringing in the ears. Using sound therapy can help the brain habituate, or learn to live alongside the phantom sounds. Sound therapy also helps to calm the mind and can relieve the mental stress of hearing loss.
- Medication– Pharmacotherapy can be useful when the cause of hearing loss includes ear infection or ear blockages, which are usually resolved with antibiotics and ear drops.
- Surgery– This is usually the treatment for cases of conductive hearing loss where structural damage to the ear structures prevents sound from reaching the inner ear. This damage can be a result of birth defects, otosclerosis, fluid up in the ear, tears in the eardrum, or ear infections.
- Assistive Listening Devices– Using amplifiers, captioning devices, or speech-to-text applications can help to reduce confusion, and other frustrating aspects of hearing loss. These are especially useful during interactions where background noise makes communicating difficult. They can also complement hearing aids, as part of a treatment plan.
Healthy Aging with Treble Health
Hearing health decline is a natural part of the aging process. For some that seems scary, but there are ways we can slow down that process, and even reverse the impacts of hearing loss completely. Embrace your golden years with the certainty you can connect with the world around you, and enjoy your life to the fullest with help from the expert hearing health professionals at Treble Health.
Treble Health offers personalized hearing solutions and expert guidance to help you preserve your hearing and enhance your quality of life. See if hearing aids are a fit for you, and explore other hearing loss solutions in a quick, 20-minute telehealth consultation on us!
