Hearing Test

[poliphilo]

We've ordered new hearing aids for my mother because either her hearing has deteriorated catastrophically over the past year or there was something very wrong with her prescription. The man who did the new test says hearing is dealt with by the part of the brain that also handles memory- and there's research underway to establish the link between deafness and dementia.

Comments

[halfmoon_mollie1]

Yes, my father is hard of hearing and getting harder of hearing, and I can see the difference in his mental state. I would guess it would be confusing to be in a world where the only sound is inside your head.

[poliphilo]

From the Guardian 14/2/16: Dr Lin estimated that as much as 36% of dementia risk is attributable to hearing impairment.....When a person needs to strain to listen to "a very garbled message through the ear", it overtaxes the brain.

This effort, as well as atrophy in underused regions, precipitates changes in brain structures.