Lately, Chris has been somewhat forgetful. She missed her doctor’s appointment two months in a row (now she needs to reschedule again). And before she went to bed she even forgot to run the dishwasher (looks like this morning she will need to handwash her coffee cup). Lately, she’s been letting things fall through the cracks. Chris has been feeling mentally exhausted and depleted all the time but, strangely, she doesn’t feel forgetful.
Only when that feeling is sneaking up on you, will you begin to recognize it. But despite how forgetful you may feel, the trouble isn’t really about memory. Your hearing is the real problem. And that means you can considerably improve your memory by wearing one little device.
How to Improve Your All-around Cognitive Function And Memory
So, having a hearing exam is the first measure to enhance your memory so you will remember that dentist appointment and not forget anyone’s name at the next meeting. If you have hearing loss a hearing exam will alert you to how bad your impairment is.
Chris hasn’t noticed any signs of hearing loss yet so she hesitates to schedule an appointment. She doesn’t really have difficulty hearing in a noisy room. And when she’s working, she doesn’t have a problem hearing team members.
But just because her symptoms aren’t recognizable doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. In fact, one of the first symptoms of hearing impairment is loss of memory. And strain on the brain is the underlying cause. Here’s how it works:
- Your hearing begins to fade, perhaps so gradually you don’t notice.
- Your ears notice a lack of sound, however slight.
- Your brain starts working a little bit harder to interpret and amplify the sounds you can hear.
- You can’t detect any real difference but in order to make sense of sound your brain has to work extra hard.
Your brain only has a limited amount of processing power which can really be dragged down by that kind of burden. So things like cognitive function and memory get pushed to the back.
Hearing Loss And Dementia
If you take memory loss to its most obvious extremes, you might end up dealing with something like dementia. And there is a connection between dementia and hearing loss, though there are a number of other factors involved and the cause and effect relationship remains fairly murky. Still, there is a higher risk of cognitive decline with individuals who have neglected hearing loss, starting with some mild memory loss and increasing to more extreme cognitive problems.
Wearing Hearing Aids Will Help You Avoid Fatigue
That’s the reason why managing your hearing loss is necessary. Marked improvement of cognitive function was noted in 97.3% of people with hearing loss who wore hearing aids for at least 18 months according to one study.
Similar results have been seen in various other studies. Hearing aids really help. Your general cognitive function increases when your brain doesn’t have to struggle as hard to hear. Memory loss and problems with cognitive function can have lots of intricate factors and hearing aids aren’t always a magic bullet.
The First Symptom of Hearing Loss is Frequently Memory Loss
This type of memory loss is mostly because of mental fatigue and is normally temporary. But if the fundamental problems are not addressed, that can change.
Memory loss, then, can be somewhat of an early warning system. You should set up an appointment with your hearing specialist as soon as you notice these symptoms. As soon as your fundamental hearing issues are addressed, your memory should go back to normal.
And your hearing will probably get better as well. The decline in your hearing will be slowed substantially by using hearing aids. These little devices, in this way, will enhance your total health not just your hearing.
