If you’re an early riser, notice birds and have your window open, you can often mark time by the start of birdsong. Such a pleasant thing.
Years ago, I awoke to the light tweeting of birds, but when I turned my head on the pillow and listened with the other ear, the birds were gone.
A couple flips of the head confirmed it. I couldn’t hear the birds out of one side. I was amazed.
As I could hear fine with the other ear and noticed nothing amiss, on I went. Then a year ago when visiting friends on their deck, they asked me what kind of birds we were listening to.
“What birds?” was my reply.
“You really can’t hear them?” they asked. Oh my.
Life got busy, but as the year progressed, I paid closer attention if I had to ask someone to repeat something, especially with background noise. Were others having trouble? Sometimes not.
Eventually I decided on a test, confirming loss in both ears.
Now I’m launching into a new era and eager to find out what I’ve been missing.
Research on hearing loss and its relation to the brain and other functions is not fully conclusive. Checking into articles by Harvard Medicine, Mayo Clinic and John-Hopkins, however, revealed clear advice to get one’s hearing checked. All cited multiple benefits to restoring hearing with no downside.
Dr. Ronald Petersen, a neurologist and director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center points out that “some studies have been shown that if people have a hearing loss over many years, certain parts of the brain, in particular the temporal lobe involved in hearing, but also involved in language and memory, may actually be smaller.”
James Naples, M.D., is a co-contributor to Harvard Health Publishing and an instructor at Harvard Medical School.
He is quick to point out that new research shows hearing loss does not necessarily lead to cognitive decline. It reveals the ear and brain have closely coordinated functions and loss in either faculty can affect the other. More specific research is needed.
Hearing expert Frank Linn, M.D., Ph.D, at John Hopkins focuses on links between hearing and health. He’s concerned that hearing loss may contribute to atrophy of the brain, but also its affect on social isolation. People with hearing loss may not be comfortable around others. Conversation and social connection however, are already confirmed as key factors for mental health, brain function and healthy aging.
Linn points out other hearing benefits. For example, as you walk, your ears pick up subtle cues that help with balance.
Hearing loss mutes these important signals. Linn notes, “It also makes your brain work harder just to process sound. This subconscious multitasking may interfere with some of the mental processing needed to walk safely.” Research continues.
Statistics show less than one in seven who could be helped by hearing aids have them.
Aside from cost, John-Hopkins points out common myths people why people don’t get them. Top two? “My hearing’s not that bad” and “I don’t want to look like I’m aging.”
Well, restored hearing helps prevent further loss, and adaptation to change shows resilience, a way to maintain vitality. Age is a time of creativity, purpose, growth and learning.
By all accounts there can be only gain from getting aids when needed. Over-the-counter aids have been approved for sale by the FDA. These are good, though often not as customizable to one’s particular needs. A visit to an audiologist is often recommended to understand need. There are countless stories of remarkable impact on quality of life when available “tools” are used to manage change.
I’ve got a nature trip planned in a few months which will immerse me in animal and bird habitat. I’m looking forward to hearing what I can hear.
Lynn Kellogg is former CEO of Region IV Area Agency on Aging in Southwest Michigan. Questions on age or independence services? Call the Info-Line for Aging & Disability at 800-654-2810 or visit areaagencyonaging.org. The Generations column appears each weekend in The Herald-Palladium.