Elderly hearing loss increases risk of dementia, and family history is likely
Aug 14, 2024
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Sunwoo Woong-sang, an otolaryngology professor at Gachon University Gil Hospital, explained that hearing loss not only interferes with daily life but also can cause brain function deterioration.
It is so common that 30% of the elderly aged 65 or older in Korea and more than half of the elderly aged 70 or older in Korea are estimated to be hearing impaired. Hearing loss itself causes discomfort in daily life, but it is also a cause of dementia.
When considering the total dementia contributing factors as 100%, hearing loss is known to be the highest contributing factor at around 8%, except for 60%, whose cause is not identified. This is higher than low education (7%), smoking (5%) and depression (4%). It is said that managing hearing loss as well as not smoking normally and maintaining a healthy mind is advantageous for preventing dementia.
Professor Sunwoo Ung-sang "Most hearing-impaired patients are not aware of their hearing loss"It is regarded as a natural phenomenon with age. When hearing loss occurs in only one ear, it is easy to overlook because there is no major inconvenience in daily life."
Hearing loss also starts to the extent that you can't hear small sounds in the beginning, but it soon develops to the point that you can't hear the loud sounds around you. In fact, the cognitive function evaluation score significantly decreased whenever hearing changed by 10 decibels (dB) in the population aged 50 or older. This is because sensory deprivation due to hearing loss can reduce the activity of the brain area that recognizes language, leading to a dormant state, and gradually leading to cognitive decline related to this area.
If you have difficulty in your daily life because you can't hear well or hear TV or radio when you're talking to your family, you must visit a nearby medical institution. Hearing loss itself causes discomfort, but it accelerates communication and social life contraction among the elderly.
It is also important to manage these diseases because chronic diseases such as diabetes, renal failure, and high blood pressure usually cause secondary hearing loss. In addition to practicing smoking cessation, you should be careful about secondhand smoke. Smoking can cause microvascular disorders and cause hearing loss. In the case of senile hearing loss, one should also pay attention to the family history. If parents have hearing loss, their children may also have hearing loss, so special attention is needed.
Hearing loss can be promoted through hearing aids. Only about half of the domestic hearing loss population uses hearing aids. There are various reasons for reluctance to use hearing aids. Among them are cases of using previously released hearing aids and having negative perceptions of hearing aids. In the past, hearing aids were uncomfortable, such as hearing too loud because they magnified all sounds. Currently, with the development of hardware, software, and IT technology, it is possible to hear surrounding sounds as naturally as possible without any sense of incompatibility.
After middle age, it is recommended to perform a hearing test at least once a year to check for hearing loss. In addition, if you have hearing problems as well as hearing loss, early treatment and management can be a healthy way to spend your old age.
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