Checking on your parents, regularly, is a good idea. It is a fact of getting older that our bodies and our minds deteriorate. If your parents, grandparents or even just an elderly loved one is suffering from dementia then they may also be suffering from hearing loss. One-quarter of Americans in their 60s and nearly two-thirds of those over 70 have hearing loss. Damaging consequences can include social isolation, increased risk of falls and much higher rates of dementia. If you and your loved ones are self isolating during MCO then hearing loss can increase these risks.
Look After Your Hearing The Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) in the UK found that there is strong evidence to show that: - mild hearing loss doubles the risk of developing dementia
- moderate hearing loss leads to three times the risk
- severe hearing loss increases the risk five times.
You can take simple, easy steps to reduce or avoid this risk for yourself and your loved ones. In The Lancet, an international medical journal, a 2017 study suggested that hearing loss is one of nine key risk factors for dementia that can be changed to reduce dementia risk. The review suggested that as many as one in three cases of dementia could be prevented if more people looked after their health throughout their lives. Wearing a suitable hearing aid will help you, and your loved ones, to remedy your hearing loss before it creates even bigger problems.
Don’t Let Your Hearing Problems IncreaseOther key risk factors for dementia include social isolation, smoking and depression. All of these can be related and may increase when you self-isolate at home during MCO. So what are some of the easy solutions for reducing the risks of hearing loss? If you, or your loved one, think that you are starting to lose your hearing then the first thing you should do is get your hearing checked. Clarisound offers you a free hearing test that won’t take long by one of our friendly, professional audiologists. You may be surprised by the result of your free hearing test. If your hearing is normal then you can breathe a sigh of relief and carry on. You may be surprised to learn that you are losing your hearing. High frequency hearing loss can be quite common and is sometimes difficult to detect, especially if you are used to working or socialising in noisy environments.
Fitting and wearing a suitable hearing aid will restore your hearing and your quality of life. It will also lower the risks of developing dementia later in life. Remember that life is like a bank account, what you put into it earlier in life is what you can take out later. If you, and your loved ones, want to age gracefully then fitting and wearing a suitable hearing aid should be done sooner than later.