While your ears collect sounds and direct them into your ear canal, they don’t actually do the “hearing.” That process is done in the auditory cortex of your brain. Treating hearing loss helps keep your brain stimulated, lowering your risk of developing cognitive issues, including dementia and memory loss.
The Connection Between Hearing and Brain Health
Sound waves travel into your middle ear where they’re converted into vibrations by your eardrum. Those vibrations move the tiny hair cells in your inner ear, which change them into electrical signals that are sent to your brain for interpretation. That function allows you to understand and recognize different auditory stimuli.
Hearing loss disrupts that process and makes it difficult for you to understand speech and other sounds. A blockage in your middle ear or damage to your inner ear can prevent vibrations from converting to the electrical signals your brain requires.
How Hearing Loss Affects Cognitive Function
Your brain requires constant stimulation to stay active. Your auditory cortex can lose its ability to interpret sounds and begin to atrophy if you have hearing loss. That can lead to cognitive decline as a portion of your brain is no longer being used.
Hearing loss can also leave you feeling mentally fatigued because your brain must work harder to understand sounds. That increases your cognitive load which can result in higher cortisol levels. You may experience stress, anxiety, sleep issues and immunity problems.
Cognitive decline can also affect:
- Concentration
- Decision-making skills
- Memory formation and storage
- Brain plasticity
You may be at greater risk for neurodegenerative diseases like dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s if your brain atrophies from lack of stimulation. Neurons can lose their ability to transmit information, affecting other parts of your brain outside of your auditory cortex.
Using Brain Stimulation to Combat Hearing Loss
Stimulating your brain can reduce the effects of auditory deprivation and help it relearn to interpret sound signals. Your brain is flexible and can rewire itself in response to environmental changes like increased audio perception. Wearing hearing aids takes some of the heavy lifting off of your brain as they can amplify and clarify sounds before they’re sent to your auditory cortex. That can decrease the effects of listening fatigue and cognitive overload.
You can also improve brain stimulation with listening exercises, including:
Sound differentiation: Listen to similar-sounding words and identify the differences between them. For example, words like hat, mat, sat and rat require concentration to identify the consonants.
Speech-in-noise training: Practice having conversations in places with background sounds and concentrating on the person speaking. Doing so helps your brain learn to filter out distractions and prioritize different auditory stimuli.
Auditory memory techniques: Listen to a series of words or numbers and recall as many as possible in the correct order to exercise your working memory.
Auditory attention exercises: Whether you’re in a quiet or noisy space, focus on identifying individual sounds and concentrating on them one at a time. You can also practice sound localization with this exercise to determine the source of different sounds.
It’s also important to stimulate different parts of your brain so they can work in tandem with your auditory cortex.
Try games and puzzles like:
- Sudoku
- Crossword puzzles
- Jigsaw puzzles
- Matching games
- Memory games and story recall
- Word searches
Benefits of Cognitive Engagement for People with Hearing Loss
Protecting your brain from cognitive decline can support your emotional well-being. Hearing loss can make it difficult to socialize, so treating it can help you feel more confident when interacting with others. That reduces your risk of isolation, which can also influence cognitive decline.
Cognitive engagement can also help your brain adapt to changes, like wearing hearing aids or a cochlear implant. That flexibility can improve speech comprehension and enhance contextual understanding.
Comprehensive Hearing Loss Treatment at Hearing Associates
We’re committed to supporting you on your hearing health journey. Whether you’re getting started or looking to make a change, the expert team at Hearing Associates is ready to help. We offer comprehensive audiology services, hearing aids and adjustments, aural rehabilitation classes and much more. Contact us to learn more about our services and schedule your appointment.