Most people just accept hearing loss as a part of getting old like reading glasses or gray hair. But a study from Duke-NUS Medical School shows a connection between hearing loss and general health in older adults.
Senior citizens with hearing or vision loss often struggle more with depression, cognitive decline, and communication troubles. You may have already read about that. But did you realize that hearing loss is also connected to shorter life expectancy?
People with untreated hearing loss, according to this study, may actually have a reduced lifespan. And, the likelihood that they will have a hard time carrying out tasks needed for daily life nearly doubles if the person has both hearing and vision impairment. It’s an issue that is both a physical and a quality of life concern.
This may sound bad but there’s a positive: hearing loss, for older people, can be treated through a variety of methods. More significantly, serious health problems can be uncovered if you get a hearing test which could encourage you to lengthen your life expectancy by paying more attention to your health.
Why is Hearing Loss Associated With Inferior Health?
Research certainly shows a connection but the specific cause and effect isn’t well known.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins note that seniors with hearing loss had a tendency to have other issues, {such assuch as} high rates of smoking, greater chance of heart disease, and stroke.
These results make sense when you understand more about the causes of hearing loss. Many cases of tinnitus and hearing loss are linked to heart disease since high blood pressure affects the blood vessels in the ear canal. When you have shrunken blood vessels – which can be due to smoking – the body’s blood has to work harder to keep the ears (and everything else) working which results in higher blood pressure. High blood pressure in older adults who have hearing loss frequently causes them to hear a whooshing sound in their ears.
Hearing loss has also been linked to dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and other forms of cognitive decline. There are several reasons for the two to be connected according to health care professionals and hearing specialists: for one, the brain has to work harder to distinguish words in a conversation, which allows less mental capacity to actually process the words or do anything else. In other circumstances, many people who have hearing loss tend to be less social, commonly due to the difficulty they have communicating. There can be a severe impact on a person’s mental health from social separation resulting in depression and anxiety.
How Older Adults Can Manage Hearing Loss
There are a few options available to treat hearing loss in older adults, but as the studies show, it’s smart to deal with these concerns early before they impact your general health.
Hearing aids are one form of treatment that can be very effective in dealing with your hearing loss. There are several different styles of hearing aids available, including small, subtle models that are Bluetooth ready. Also, basic quality of life has been enhancing due to hearing aid technology. For example, they let you hear better during your entertainment by allowing you to connect to your phone, computer, or TV and they filter out background sound better than older models.
Older adults can also visit a nutritionist or contact their doctor about changes to their diet to help prevent additional hearing loss. There are links between iron deficiency anemia and hearing loss, for example, which can frequently be treated by increasing the iron content in your diet. Changes to your diet could also positively affect other health conditions, leading to an overall more healthy lifestyle.
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Most people just accept hearing loss as a part of getting old like reading glasses or gray hair. But a study from Duke-NUS Medical School shows a connection between hearing loss and general health in older adults.
Senior citizens with hearing or vision loss often struggle more with depression, cognitive decline, and communication troubles. You may have already read about that. But did you realize that hearing loss is also connected to shorter life expectancy?
People with untreated hearing loss, according to this study, may actually have a reduced lifespan. And, the likelihood that they will have a hard time carrying out tasks needed for daily life nearly doubles if the person has both hearing and vision impairment. It’s an issue that is both a physical and a quality of life concern.
This may sound bad but there’s a positive: hearing loss, for older people, can be treated through a variety of methods. More significantly, serious health problems can be uncovered if you get a hearing test which could encourage you to lengthen your life expectancy by paying more attention to your health.
Why is Hearing Loss Associated With Inferior Health?
Research certainly shows a connection but the specific cause and effect isn’t well known.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins note that seniors with hearing loss had a tendency to have other issues, {such assuch as} high rates of smoking, greater chance of heart disease, and stroke.
These results make sense when you understand more about the causes of hearing loss. Many cases of tinnitus and hearing loss are linked to heart disease since high blood pressure affects the blood vessels in the ear canal. When you have shrunken blood vessels – which can be due to smoking – the body’s blood has to work harder to keep the ears (and everything else) working which results in higher blood pressure. High blood pressure in older adults who have hearing loss frequently causes them to hear a whooshing sound in their ears.
Hearing loss has also been linked to dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and other forms of cognitive decline. There are several reasons for the two to be connected according to health care professionals and hearing specialists: for one, the brain has to work harder to distinguish words in a conversation, which allows less mental capacity to actually process the words or do anything else. In other circumstances, many people who have hearing loss tend to be less social, commonly due to the difficulty they have communicating. There can be a severe impact on a person’s mental health from social separation resulting in depression and anxiety.
How Older Adults Can Manage Hearing Loss
There are a few options available to treat hearing loss in older adults, but as the studies show, it’s smart to deal with these concerns early before they impact your general health.
Hearing aids are one form of treatment that can be very effective in dealing with your hearing loss. There are several different styles of hearing aids available, including small, subtle models that are Bluetooth ready. Also, basic quality of life has been enhancing due to hearing aid technology. For example, they let you hear better during your entertainment by allowing you to connect to your phone, computer, or TV and they filter out background sound better than older models.
Older adults can also visit a nutritionist or contact their doctor about changes to their diet to help prevent additional hearing loss. There are links between iron deficiency anemia and hearing loss, for example, which can frequently be treated by increasing the iron content in your diet. Changes to your diet could also positively affect other health conditions, leading to an overall more healthy lifestyle.