Lately, Chris has been a little forgetful. She missed her doctor’s appointment for the second month in a row (now she needs to reschedule again). And before she went to bed she even overlooked running the dishwasher (looks like this morning she will have to handwash her coffee cup). Lately, she’s been letting things fall through the cracks. Curiously, Chris doesn’t necessarily feel forgetful…she simply feels mentally depleted and exhausted all the time.
Only after that feeling is sneaking up on you, will you begin to realize it. Frequently, though, the problem isn’t your memory, despite how forgetful you might appear. The real problem is your hearing. And that means there’s one small device, a hearing aid, that can help you significantly improve your memory.
How to Enhance Your General Cognitive Function And Memory
So, having a hearing exam is the first measure to enhance your memory so you will remember that dentist appointment and will remember everyone’s name in the next meeting. If you have hearing loss a hearing exam will alert you to how bad your impairment is.
Chris hasn’t recognized any signs of hearing loss yet so she hesitates to make an appointment. She can hear in noisy rooms fairly well enough. And when she’s at work, she doesn’t have a problem hearing team members.
But she may have some level of hearing loss even though she hasn’t noticed any symptoms yet. As a matter of fact, memory loss is frequently one of the very first noticeable symptoms of hearing loss. And strain on the brain is the base cause. This is how it works:
- Your hearing starts to fade, probably so gradually you don’t realize.
- Your ears notice a lack of sound, however slight.
- Your brain begins working a little bit harder to translate and amplify the sounds you are able to hear.
- Everything seems normal, but it takes more work on your brain’s part to make sense of the sounds.
That kind of constant strain can be a real drag on your brain’s limited resources. So things such as memory and cognitive function take a back seat.
Hearing Loss And Dementia
When loss of memory is extreme, the result might be dementia. And dementia and hearing loss do have a link, though there are a number of other factors at work and the cause and effect relationship remains somewhat uncertain. Still, people who have neglected hearing loss, over time, are at an increased risk for experiencing cognitive decline, starting with some moderate memory loss and increasing to more extreme cognitive problems.
Hearing Aids And Warding Off Fatigue
This is why it’s necessary to deal with your hearing loss. As stated in one study, 97.3% of individuals with hearing loss who wore hearing aids for at least 18 months showed a noticeable stabilization or improvement in their cognitive abilities.
Similar benefits have been observed in several other studies. It’s unquestionably helpful to wear hearing aids. When your brain doesn’t need to work quite as hard, your overall cognitive function improves. Memory loss and issues with cognitive function can have lots of complex factors and hearing aids aren’t always a magic bullet.
Memory Loss Can be The First Sign of Hearing Loss
This kind of memory loss is mostly due to mental fatigue and is normally not permanent. But that can change if the fundamental concerns remain neglected.
So if you’re recognizing some memory loss, it can be an early sign of hearing loss. When you first detect those symptoms, you should schedule an appointment with your hearing specialist. As soon as your fundamental hearing problems are dealt with, your memory should return to normal.
And your hearing will most likely improve also. A hearing aid can help stop the decline in your hearing. These little devices, in this way, will improve your total health not just your hearing.