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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : February 5, 2019 11:16 AM IST
It is important to get your hearing checked to avoid other health problems ©Shutterstock
Hearing loss can either be congenital (present at birth) or can be acquired later in life. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), refers to the complete loss of hearing ability in one or both ears, while "hearing impairment" refers to both complete and partial loss of hearing ability. When it comes to age-related hearing loss, research has shown that the death of sensory hair cells in the inner ear is to be blamed. Hearing loss or the loss of ability to hear is a serious condition in itself. But what s more worrying is hearing loss could lead to a number of other health conditions.
Dementia: A recent study has revealed how elderly people with a certain type of hearing loss may be more likely to also have memory loss and thinking problems called mild cognitive impairment. The study, presented at the American Academy of Neurology s 70th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, looked at people with peripheral age-related hearing loss, which is caused by problems in how the inner ear and hearing nerves function and leads to people not being able to hear. It also looked at a central age-related hearing loss, which is caused by problems in the brain s ability to process sound. The researchers found that people with central hearing loss were twice as likely to have a mild cognitive impairment as people who had no hearing loss.
According to study author Rodolfo Sardone from the University of Bari in Italy, the results suggest that central hearing loss may share the same progressive loss of functioning in brain cells that occurs in cognitive decline. Hearing loss is one of the most common disabilities in elderly people. Here are some other conditions that hearing loss has been linked to:
Social withdrawal: Hearing loss among old people leaves a deep impact on their personality as well research from the University of Gothenburg suggests. Hearing loss directly affects the quality of social situations according to Anne Ingeborg Berg from the department of psychology at the University. the link between hearing loss and social withdrawal forms a potential threat to older people s wellbeing, the researchers said.
Increased risk of falls: Hearing loss may mean faster brain degeneration warned a study by the Johns Hopkins University and the National Institute on Aging in the US. The brain shrinks with age, but the shrinkage may be faster in older adults with hearing loss, according to this study. Those with impaired hearing were found to lose more than an additional cubic centimetre of brain tissue each year compared with those with normal hearing. This could lead to an increased risk of falls, hospitalisations, and diminished physical and mental health overall.
Depression: Older adults with age-related hearing loss are more likely to have a greater risk of depressive symptoms, a study by the researchers from Columbia University in the US found. Older adults with mild hearing loss are almost twice as likely to have clinically significant symptoms of depression than those with normal hearing. Individuals with severe hearing loss had over four times the odds of having depressive symptoms.
According to researchers, this is mainly because people with hearing loss have trouble communicating and tend to become more socially isolated, and social isolation can lead to depression , explained lead author Justin S. Golub, Assistant Professor at the Columbia University.
With inputs from IANS
