While some persist in viewing hearing loss as an inconsequential part of aging, significant hearing impairment has been linked with substantial physical, psychological, and social ramifications. These consequences include isolation, loneliness, depression, anxiety, falls and other accidents, and increased mortality rate. In addition to increasing friction between friends, workers, and family members, hearing loss contributes to cognitive decline and dementia. It is believed that hearing loss may compromise memory because additional effort is required to process auditory information. It is also possible that hearing loss and cognitive decline are both caused by shared factors, which means that both become simultaneously impaired. These are hardly inconsequential matters. Hearing impairment merits attention in terms of both diagnosis and treatment.
P.S. Some research suggests that wearing a hearing instrument not only improves hearing, but also facilitates social interaction, reduces depression, and generally improves overall health.
People “hear” with their brains, not their ears. When we have a hearing loss, the connections in our brain that respond to sound become reorganized. Fortunately, hearing aids can provide the sound stimulation needed for the brain to restore the normal organization of connections to its “sound center” so it can more readily react to the sounds that it had been missing. To schedule a hearing exam, please call EAR & HEARING CLINIC. We are registered members of the College of Audiologists and Speech Language Pathologists of Ontario. “Hear the Sounds of Life.”
