{"id":1077,"date":"2021-08-06T22:53:18","date_gmt":"2021-08-06T22:53:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/?p=1077"},"modified":"2021-08-06T22:53:21","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T22:53:21","slug":"speech-in-noise-hearing-impairment-associated-with-increased-dementia-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/speech-in-noise-hearing-impairment-associated-with-increased-dementia-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Speech-in-Noise Hearing Impairment Associated with Increased Dementia Risk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you only have trouble hearing and following conversations in noisy environments like Ocean Grill<\/a>, you may feel that your hearing isn\u2019t that bad and doesn\u2019t pose any risks to your health or wellbeing. However, recent research shows that people with a speech-in-noise hearing impairment<\/a> having an elevated risk of developing dementia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the Research Shows<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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A recent study published in July 2021<\/a> in Alzheimer\u2019s and Dementia <\/em>investigated a phenomenon known as the \u201ccocktail party problem,\u201d which describes when someone has trouble focusing on a single speaker or conversation when they\u2019re in a noisy environment. While people with normal hearing can filter out background noise and focus on their conversation partner, both hearing loss and cognitive decline make this task difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to study this, researchers worked with 82,000 people over 60 years old who were participants in the ongoing dementia study called the UK Biobank. At the start of the study, all participants \u2013 none of which had dementia \u2013 were tasked with identifying spoken numbers that were played over white noise. They were then grouped into three categories based on their performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After 11 years, 11,285 of the participants had developed dementia. Researchers found that the group who performed worst on the speech-in-noise test were most likely to develop dementia<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What This Means<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most of us think of memory problems as the main symptom of dementia, but it\u2019s also the case that many people with dementia experience the cocktail party problem. This study suggests that hearing changes aren\u2019t just a symptom of dementia, but a risk factor that could be treated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re experiencing problems hearing speech in background noise, it\u2019s important to be tested for hearing loss and seek treatment promptly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hearing Aids Can Help Delay a Dementia Diagnosis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, research shows that hearing aids can help prevent or delay a dementia diagnosis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One study published in September 2019<\/a> in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society <\/em>examined the association between hearing aids and time to diagnosis of Alzheimer\u2019s disease, dementia, anxiety, depression and injurious falls among older adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To do this, researchers examined data collected between 2008 and 2016 from nearly 115,000 adults over the age of 66. They found that the use of hearing aids was associated with a delayed diagnosis of Alzheimer\u2019s disease, dementia, anxiety, and injurious falls among older adults with hearing loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re ready to take the next step in treating your hearing loss, call the experts at Aaron\u2019s Hearing Aid & Audiology Center today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n