Researchers discovered that hearing loss in the elderly is associated with alterations in the brain in regions related to executive function and sound processing, which may raise the risk of dementia. It is advised to take precautions like wearing hearing aids and avoiding noisy environments to lessen this risk.
Changes in the brain that result from compensating for hearing loss may be the cause of the increased risk of dementia.
Researchers found that hearing loss in the elderly is linked to particular changes in the brain that may raise the risk of dementia.
The study found microstructural differences in the brain regions responsible for speech, executive function, and auditory processing in individuals with hearing impairment using MRI and hearing tests. Linda K. McEvoy, the principal investigator, notes that these alterations may result from the higher cognitive load associated with sound processing.
The study emphasises how crucial early interventions and hearing protection are in reducing the risk of dementia.
The study found microstructural differences in the brain regions responsible for speech, executive function, and auditory processing in individuals with hearing impairment using MRI and hearing tests. Linda K. McEvoy, the principal investigator, notes that these alterations may result from the higher cognitive load associated with sound processing.
The study emphasises how crucial early interventions and hearing protection are in reducing the risk of dementia.
In the US, over 60% of adults 70 years of age and older suffer from hearing loss, which is linked to a higher risk of dementia. This association’s cause is not entirely clear.
A group of researchers from the University of California San Diego and Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and hearing tests to better understand the relationship between hearing impairment and differences in particular brain regions.
Researchers found that participants with hearing impairments in this observational study showed microstructural differences in the frontal cortex’s speech and language processing areas, auditory areas of the temporal lobe, and executive function areas.
According to these findings, hearing loss may alter the way that sound information is processed in the brain as well as the attentional network. According to senior investigator and principal investigator Linda K. McEvoy, Ph.D., of the UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, “the extra effort required to try to understand sounds may produce changes in the brain that lead to increased risk of dementia.”
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