Is Alzheimer's disease related to hearing loss?
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Is Alzheimer's disease related to hearing loss?
A 2017 report from The Lancet International Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention and Care demonstrates the importance of prevention. The report identified hearing loss as one of nine potentially modifiable risk factors that account for approximately 35% of dementia cases, with hearing loss being the largest cause of 9%.
The human body is a very sophisticated system. We often hear people say that if a person is blind, his hearing and sense of smell will often be outstanding to help him. To survive better, this is a kind of compensatory self-regulation. Deafness can also cause this kind of adjustment, but the difference is that the detachment does not completely lose hearing, so many healthy functions of the brain will be affected, which is bound to have an adverse effect on the brain.
A 2011 study in the Archives of Neurology (now JAMA Neurology) found that people with mild hearing loss had a normal risk of developing dementia. Nearly twice that of hearing people. Those with moderate loss had three times the risk, while those with severe loss had five times the risk.
“What we do know is that people who tend to have hearing loss tend to have more dementia,” Adekola said. “That doesn’t mean that hearing loss causes dementia.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 5 million people in the United States were living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias in 2014, accounting for approximately 1.6% of the U.S. population. By 2060, this number is expected to grow to 13.9 million, or approximately 3.3% of the total population.
Iadecola said there are multiple causes of dementia, including vascular, neurogenic and neuroimmune diseases. "Each drug has a different effect on the brain."
Iadecola said one theory behind the link between dementia and hearing lossHowever, dementia creates certain conditions that may affect hearing. Or, he added, it could be the other way around, with hearing loss impairing brain function in some way.
In daily life, it is recommended that the elderly should pay attention to protecting their ears to prevent and reduce the occurrence of hearing impairment: Friends who smoke and drink are advised to quit as soon as possible; do not excessively pick out the ears. If there is too much earwax, you can remove it. Ask a doctor to help clean it up; avoid staying in noisy environments and using headphones for long periods of time; if you suffer from chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, actively intervene and take medication scientifically.
When the elderly experience symptoms such as tinnitus and reduced hearing ability and speech discrimination ability in noisy environments, they should immediately go to a professional hearing aid fitting center to have their hearing tested and wear Hearing Aids. . According to a survey by authoritative departments, the proportion of patients with hearing loss increases significantly as age increases, with 1/8 of those over 50 years old, 3/8 of those over 65 years old, and as high as 7/8 of those aged 70 to 92. . As the population ages, more and more elderly people will be affected by hearing loss. Therefore, if the elderly's hearing loss may lead to Alzheimer's disease, they need to undergo professional hearing tests and choose hearing aids as soon as possible.