{"id":3296,"date":"2023-05-30T19:57:24","date_gmt":"2023-05-31T00:57:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/?p=3296"},"modified":"2023-05-30T19:57:25","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T00:57:25","slug":"whats-the-link-between-hearing-and-the-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/whats-the-link-between-hearing-and-the-brain\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s The Link Between Hearing and the Brain?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Our brains play an important part in the hearing process. Additionally, untreated <a href=\"https:\/\/mwent.net\/hearing\/hearing-loss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hearing loss<\/a> has been shown to negatively affect cognition. Let\u2019s take a closer look at the connection between hearing and the brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hearing Loss Affects Cognitive Abilities <\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"853\" src=\"https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/pexels-yan-krukov-6817647-1280x853.jpg\" alt=\"Senior woman with glasses reading on her couch.\" class=\"wp-image-3299\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/pexels-yan-krukov-6817647-1280x853.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/pexels-yan-krukov-6817647-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/pexels-yan-krukov-6817647-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/pexels-yan-krukov-6817647-scaled.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Research has established a connection between untreated hearing loss and cognitive changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to The National Library of Medicine, &#8220;There is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4811604\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ample evidence linking hearing loss to changes in cognitive ability<\/a>, particularly when listeners are faced with the task of understanding speech that is acoustically or linguistically challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, a study from Johns Hopkins University found that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hopkinsmedicine.org\/health\/wellness-and-prevention\/the-hidden-risks-of-hearing-loss#:~:text=%E2%80%9CBrain%20scans%20show%20us%20that,factors%20may%20contribute%20to%20dementia.%E2%80%9D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hearing loss increases a person&#8217;s risk of dementia<\/a>. The more severe the hearing loss, the greater the risk of developing dementia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Hearing Loss Affects Brain Function<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Lack of stimulation<\/strong>. When you have hearing loss, the parts of your brain that process speech and other sounds don\u2019t get as much stimulation as they did when you had normal hearing. This decreased input into the brain leads to less processing and contributes to a decline in cognition.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cognitive overload<\/strong>. As hearing becomes more difficult, your brain has to work harder to process and understand sound, and your brain starts to work less efficiently. This cognitive overload can lead to mental fatigue and affect your cognition.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Isolation<\/strong>. Because hearing makes understanding speech more difficult, many people with hearing loss start to avoid social situations and isolate themselves from others. Isolation both deprives your brain of stimulation and has been associated with a faster rate of cognitive decline.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hearing Aids Can Be Good for The Brain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Treating your hearing loss with <a href=\"https:\/\/mwent.net\/hearing\/hearing-aids\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hearing aids<\/a> may help to reduce your risk of developing cognitive decline and dementia when compared to people who leave their hearing loss untreated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hearing aids help make it easier to process sounds, which helps you communicate whether you\u2019re enjoying time with your family at home, participating in a work meeting or out enjoying a meal with friends at one of Minnesota\u2019s many amazing restaurants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These connections help you to avoid isolation and provide your brain with proper stimulation. Hearing aids also make it so your brain doesn\u2019t have to work as hard to understand what people are saying, so you\u2019re less likely to experience cognitive overload.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information about hearing loss and the brain, call the experts at <a href=\"https:\/\/mwent.net\/hearing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Midwest Hearing<\/a> today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><ul class=\"related-posts\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/mwent.net\/announcing-national-speech-language-hearing-month\/\" class=\"related-post\">Announcing National Speech-Language-Hearing Month<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/mwent.net\/navigating-your-hearing-loss-a-guide-to-your-treatment-plan-visit\/\" class=\"related-post\">Navigating Your Hearing Loss: A Guide to Your Treatment Plan Visit<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/mwent.net\/new-ears-day-prioritize-your-hearing-health-in-2024\/\" class=\"related-post\">New \u2018Ears\u2019 Day: Prioritize Your Hearing Health in 2024\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our brains play an important part in the hearing process. Additionally, untreated hearing loss has been shown to negatively affect cognition. Let\u2019s take a closer look at the connection between hearing and the brain. Hearing Loss Affects Cognitive Abilities Research has established a connection between untreated hearing loss and cognitive changes. According to The National&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3299,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3296"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3296\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}