Hearing loss, Alzheimer's and other memory impairments

[MaxwellsEq]

A potentially interesting bit of research. It's been known for a while that there is correlation between hearing loss and Alzheimer's, but I don't think I've seen any clear causality proposed. This research paper has identified some changes that may indicate the consequences of the brain having to deal with comprehension issues.

"The extra effort involved with trying to understand sounds may produce changes in the brain that lead to increased risk of dementia,” said principal investigator Linda K. McEvoy, Ph.D., UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science professor emeritus and senior investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute

"The findings emphasize the importance of protecting one’s hearing by avoiding prolonged exposure to loud sounds, wearing hearing protection when using loud tools and reducing the use of ototoxic medications,” said co-author Emilie T. Reas, Ph.D., assistant professor at the UC San Diego School of Medicine.

“If so, interventions that help reduce the cognitive effort required to understand speech — such as the use of subtitles on television and movies, live captioning or speech-to-text apps, hearing aids, and visiting with people in quiet environments instead of noisy spaces — could be important for protecting the brain and reduce the risk of dementia.”

Hearing Loss is Associated with Subtle Changes in the Brain

A team of UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science along with Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute researchers employed hearing tests and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine whether hearing impairment is associated with differences

today.ucsd.edu

 

[wwenze]

Well, insufficient sleep is correlated to dementia, and hearing loss is correlated to tinnitus. Now have you tried trying to sleep with severe tinnitus?

 

[MaxwellsEq]

Well, insufficient sleep is correlated to dementia, and hearing loss is correlated to tinnitus. Now have you tried trying to sleep with severe tinnitus?

Yes!

 

[fpitas]

The extra effort involved with trying to understand sounds may produce changes in the brain that lead to increased risk of dementia,”

To me this suggests speakers that have excellent clarity, to avoid extra listening effort