Susan began her full time career with Welsch Hearing Aid Company in December, 1984 as the Office Manager. On March 5, 1985, she became a State Licensed Hearing Instrument Specialist. In 1994, she passed her National Board for Certification Examination.
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When we use any of our five senses—be it taste, touch, sight, smell, or hearing—our nervous system sends signals to our brain, helping us to interpret the realities of the world and to properly interact with it. As a person loses their hearing, the nerves responsible for transmitting the information to their brains begin to atrophy and die off, causing permanent changes to their hearing. However, a new study from the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is reporting that untreated hearing loss can also cause permanent damage to the brain in the form of dementia.
While the researchers from the study are inconclusive on the exact reason hearing loss leads to dementia, they are clear on one thing that can help prevent this fate: hearing aids!
They found that while the more severe the hearing loss, the more likely the person was to develop dementia, the users of hearing aids saw a dramatic reduction in the onset of dementia compared to those who did not wear hearing aids.
The lead author of the study, Alison Huang, hopes that this research will lead to more funding for hearing health care.
“This study refines what we’ve observed about the link between hearing loss and dementia and builds support for public health action to improve hearing care access,” says lead author Alison Huang, PhD, MPH, a senior research associate in the Bloomberg School’s Department of Epidemiology and at the Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health, also at the Bloomberg School.
In the study, moderate to severe hearing loss was linked to a 61% greater likelihood of developing dementia than those who had normal hearing.
Hearing aid use in those with moderate to severe loss dropped the risk of dementia by a whopping 32%!
If you are experiencing hearing loss, no matter how great or small, time is of the essence to avoid the numerous pitfalls associated with hearing loss. Contact Welsch Hearing Aid Company today at 920-452-0213 for an Initial Hearing Evaluation and consultation. We stay up to date with the latest technologies while also offering a variety of hearing aids from all of the leading manufacturers in order to best accommodate your hearing loss and lifestyle needs.
This small step to restore your hearing will lead to numerous health benefits that will improve and prolong the vitality of your life.
Hearing loss and dementia prevalence in older adults in the United States was co-authored by Alison Huang, Kening Jiang, Frank Lin, Jennifer Deal, and Nicholas Reed. The research was funded by the National Institute of Aging.