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Wearing hearing aids preserves mental fitness
There are many factors associated with the loss of brain power. One of them is an untreated hearing loss. As far as known. For the first time, a recently published long-term study shows that wearing hearing aids helps to maintain mental abilities in old age. The "Self-reported Hearing Loss, Hearing Aids, and Cognitive Decline in Elderly Adults: A 25-year Study" study, part of the overarching PAQUID * study, involved 3,670 senior citizens aged 65+ over a 25-year period. This was led by Professor Hélène Amieva from the University of Bordeaux. She is one of the leading researchers in the field of neuropsychology and epidemiology of aging.
The study compares the course of decline in mental performance in elderly hearing-impaired people with or without hearing aids. The result is clear: participants who did not wear hearing aids despite hearing loss performed significantly worse than hearing aid users in the test. Their test results did not differ at all from those of the seniors with a sound ear. Hearing aids can help to stay mentally healthy for longer. Or: Whoever heard badly and did not wear hearing aids, was quick to lose his mental capacity.
Hearing aids. Image: Monika Wisniewska - fotolia Hearing aids have a positive effect on social interactions and mental performance
In the past, a number of studies have identified correlations between hearing loss and increased risk of mental decline in the elderly. Including a study by Johns Hopkins University **. It states that hearing loss is not only associated with the accelerated decline in mental performance, but may also be associated with the onset of dementia in the elderly. The risk of suffering from a form of dementia even with low hearing loss is twice as high as without hearing loss. With a strong hearing loss the risk even quintuples.
The vast majority of scientists agree that mental degradation is likely related to the lack of social interaction that older people have due to their hearing loss. It has been generally accepted that wearing a hearing aid has a positive impact on social life, thereby reducing the risk of a more rapid decline in mental capacity. The study by Professor Hélène Amieva now finally confirms these assumptions.
Hearing aids can help you to stay mentally healthy for longer
Horst Warncke, Head of Audiology at hearing aid manufacturer Oticon, knows how much hearing aids can do: "I can communicate better with hearing aids. I go back to people again, am back in the middle. This is stimulating and results in skills not being lost so quickly. But it is also important that hearing aids actively support the brain in its work. The new findings are a strong motivator for the more than 75 percent of hearing-impaired people in Germany who could not wear and benefit from hearing aids. "The listening expert points to Oticon's unique BrainHearing ™ concept.
Mental fitness starts with good hearing and with the right hearing aids
Rather than focus solely on enhancing desired and suppressing unwanted sounds, Oticon is taking a different approach with BrainHearing, focusing on making the sounds easier to process in the brain. To achieve the best possible result here, various technologies ensure that the sound impression with hearing aids is detailed and therefore as natural as possible. Understanding becomes easier again and less exhausting. The brain needs less energy to hear, which can be used for other mental processes.
As a result, people with hearing aids can more actively participate in life and thus delay or even prevent the loss of mental abilities.
Hearing health belongs in the pension catalog!
Among the elderly, deafness is the most prevalent chronic disease. According to the World Health Organization, 360 million people worldwide suffer from a hearing loss that severely affects their lives. About 15 million of them live in Germany. However, as the PAQUID study shows, only a quarter of them can be treated. In addition, even among these 25 percent, many hearing impaired people wait around seven to ten years before they seek help. Years in which they could benefit from advances in hearing aid research - through better hearing, better cognitive performance, better social interaction, and better protection against accelerated brain loss.
"The study should be a wake-up call to all hearing-impaired people who have not yet actively done something about their hearing loss," Warncke continued. "In addition to good hearing, in the long run, it's about preventing the effects of hearing loss." (Pm)
* In the PAQUID cohort study (or Paquid study), a group of (to date) a total of 3,777 individuals aged 65 years or older from 1988 to the present was studied. The researchers recruited the study participants from more than 91 different regions of southwestern France to evaluate the influence of different environmental, behavioral and social conditions on age-related medical status and disease. One of the key goals of the study was to identify causes of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, if possible.
** Lin et al: Hearing Loss and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults (JAMA Intern Med. 2013 Feb 25; 173 (4): 293-9)