February is American Heart Month. The American Heart Association reports that heart disease is the leading cause of death in both men and women, with nearly 787,000 deaths in the United States linked to heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases in 2011 or 1 in 3 people. For women, cardiovascular disease ranks as the number 1 killer, resulting in more deaths than all forms of cancer. These statistics alone push cardiovascular disease to the top of the list for America’s most serious health issue.

Cardiovascular disease presents a variety of different complications including high blood pressure, arrhythmia, stroke and heart attack. Recently a growing body of research is also linking hearing loss and heart disease. A study conducted by Harvard University cited a staggering relation between heart disease and hearing loss finding “hearing loss occurred 54% more often in people with heart disease then in the general population.” Hearing loss is one of the most common physical ailments for the general public, third only to heart disease and arthritis respectively.

So what is the heart-hearing link? Cardiovascular disease is a disease of the heart and blood vessels. Many of the problems surrounding heart disease are a direct result of a condition called atherosclerosis in which plaque builds up on the arteries, narrowing the arterial path, making it harder for blood to flow through the veins, arteries and ultimately bodily organs. The inner ear is extremely sensitive to blood flow. If blood flow is inadequate, interrupted or the vessels suffer a trauma, the result can be damage to the inner ear nerves, negatively impacting a person’s ability to hear. In fact, the nerves in the inner ear as so fragile that Harvard researches believe they may be the first organ affected by cardiovascular disease. In essence, hearing loss may be one of the earliest indicators of heart disease.

A leading researcher in the area of the heart-hearing link is David R. Friedland, MD, PhD, Professor and Vice-Chair of Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. He has been studying the relationship for years and says “The inner ear is so sensitive to blood flow that it is possible that abnormalities in the cardiovascular system could be noted here earlier than in other less sensitive parts of the body.”

Subsequently, a healthy cardiovascular system can have a positive impact on hearing. It’s important to adopt a lifestyle that supports both a healthy heart and healthy hearing. The American Heart Association suggest the following to a healthier life: get active, reduce stress, eat healthy, lose weight, quit smoking, get adequate sleep, watch your cholesterol, manage blood pressure, and reduce your blood sugar and risk for diabetes. Also, incorporate hearing checks into your routine medical exams.

Cardiovascular disease is the cause of more deaths than cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, and accidents combined. It is not only the leading cause of death in America, but globally accounts for 17.3 million per year with the American Heart Association estimating that number to grow to more than 23.6 million by 2030. A healthy heart and hearing are not only beneficial to one’s physical well-being but are also beneficial to a positive outcome and an optimum quality of life.

The following article appeared on betterhearing.org on October 11, 2013. Read on to get more information on how hearing loss and dementia are related.

Dementia-Hearing Loss Link Warrants Routine Hearing Checks, BHI Stresses for National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month

Washington, DC, October 10, 2013 – As research showing a link between hearing loss and cognitive function mounts, the Better Hearing Institute is urging people to pay close attention to their hearing and take a confidential online hearing check at www.hearingcheck.org in recognition of National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month in November. BHI is raising awareness of the relationship between hearing loss and dementia, and is underscoring the importance of addressing hearing loss for the benefit of overall cognitive function. Today, nearly 40 million people in the United States have some degree of hearing loss.

While the causality requires further investigation, the increasingly evident link between hearing loss and dementia elevates the urgency of diagnosing and treating hearing loss as soon as possible.

A study published earlier this year found that hearing loss is associated with accelerated cognitive decline in older adults. Conducted by Johns Hopkins otologist and epidemiologist Frank Lin, M.D., Ph.D. and other hearing experts, the study found that older adults with hearing loss are more likely to develop problems thinking and remembering than older adults whose hearing is normal. According to a Johns Hopkins press release, volunteers with hearing loss, undergoing repeated cognition tests over six years, had cognitive abilities that declined some 30 to 40 percent faster than in those whose hearing was normal. The researchers also found that the greater the hearing loss, the greater the levels of declining brain function.

In a 2011 study, Lin found that seniors with hearing loss are significantly more likely to develop dementia over time than those who retain their hearing. The study also found that the more hearing loss they had, the higher their likelihood of developing dementia.

Exploring the hearing loss-cognition connection

Other studies have shown related findings, including several involving Brandeis University Professor of Neuroscience, Dr. Arthur Wingfield. For many years, Wingfield has been studying cognitive aging and the relationship between memory and hearing acuity.

Wingfield and his co-investigators have found that older adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss performed poorer on cognitive tests than those of the same age who had good hearing. These findings have included a significant interaction between hearing acuity and the level of difficulty listeners experience in cognitively processing linguistic information–which is a higher-level brain activity than simply interpreting the sound.

These findings, Wingfield says, suggest that the listener’s hearing ability not only affects their sensory processing of auditory information, but that it also affects higher level linguistic processing.

The study participants with hearing loss expended so much cognitive effort on trying to hear accurately, Wingfield concluded, that it diminished their ability to comprehend rapid speech and remember what had been heard.

More recently, Wingfield, along with colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania and Washington University in St. Louis, used MRI to look at the effect that hearing loss has on both brain activity and structure.

Their study found that people with poorer hearing had less gray matter in the auditory cortex, a region of the brain that is necessary to support speech comprehension. Wingfield believes that the participants’ hearing loss had a causal role. He and his co-investigators hypothesize that when the sensory stimulation is reduced due to hearing loss, corresponding areas of the brain reorganize their activity as a result.

“The sharpness of an individual’s hearing has cascading consequences for various aspects of cognitive function,” said Wingfield. “We are only just beginning to understand how far-reaching these consequences are.”

“Even if you have just a mild hearing loss that is not being treated, you have to put in so much effort just to perceive and understand what is being said that you divert resources away from what you would ordinarily use to store what you have heard in your memory,” Wingfield continued. “Cognitive load increases significantly.”

As people move through middle age and their later years, Wingfield suggested, it is reasonable for them to get their hearing tested annually. If there is a hearing loss, it is best to take it seriously and treat it.

For more information on Alzheimer’s disease and National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month, visit the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org.

Hearing aids can benefit people with Alzheimer’s disease and hearing loss–and their caregivers

BHI reminds people with Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers that hearing health is an important factor in their quality of life. The ability to communicate with the help of hearing aids can help enhance quality of life for individuals with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers.

BHI advocates that hearing checks, hearing healthcare, and hearing aids when appropriate be included in the regimen of care for people with Alzheimer’s disease. Identification and remediation of hearing loss prior to the evaluation of dementia also can help ensure a more accurate medical evaluation. BHI advocates that a comprehensive hearing examination and hearing healthcare be part of the diagnostic process.

For information about the 10 Early Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer’s, visit www.alz.org/10signs.

Click here to read the full article at betterhearing.org!

Hearing well not only effects your everyday life, it can effect your long-term brain health! Many studies have shown a significant link between hearing loss and dementia, which leads into Alzheimer’s. These long term studies suggest four ways this link is seen to affect patients.

1. Processing auditory information from the inner ear, like speech, uses a significant portion of the brain. Sound travels through your ear to nerves that send signals to the primary auditory cortex of the brain, which is in the temporal lobe. The sounds are then put together and processed in an area called the Wernicke’s area, which is in the parietal lobe.(8) The Wernicke’s area is in charge of putting the auditory information you received from your ears into speech understanding.(7) But, if the brain cannot hear that information due to hearing loss, then brain activity lessens. This causes a reduction in gray matter of the brain over time, in other words, your brain shrinks! The areas of the brain that are primary for speech understanding, such as the Wernicke’s area, are very close to where Alzheimer’s disease is first seen on brain scans. Patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s can receive appropriate hearing testing and treatment of hearing loss, in turn, reducing their cognitive decline. Therefore, it is imperative that those being diagnosed with dementia have hearing testing to determine if hearing loss is a contributing factor to the patient’s dementia.(7)

2. The symptoms of dementia and Alzheimers can mimick hearing loss. (9) Answering questions wrong, not remembering what was said, depression, and anxiety can all be attributed to dementia as well as hearing loss! Misunderstanding of words or lack of participation in conversations can be a sign of hearing loss or dementia. A simple hearing test can determine which it is!

3. Social isolation is a well known risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer’s, as well as depression.(7,8,9) When someone is hard of hearing, they are less likely to engage in social activities and conversations because it takes a lot of effort in these situations to overcome the hearing loss and participate normally. Simply conversing with one person exercises the brain and reduces negative feelings such as depression. The National Council of Aging published a study surveying 2,300 hearing impaired adults and their family and friends. It found that untreated hearing loss was linked to depression, anxiety and social isolation. Those who corrected their hearing in this study found significant improvements in every dimension of their lives!

4. There is a strong correlation between the degree of hearing loss and severity of cognitive decline.8 The University of Washington found that when testing patients with Alzheimer’s, the more hearing loss they had correlated to the severity of cognitive decline.

Therefore, it is critical for patients exhibiting any signs or symptoms of dementia or Alzheimer’s to get an audiological examination to rule out hearing loss. Call us to schedule your complimentary hearing screening today!

QUICK FACTS

• 94% correlation between hearing loss and dementia. (1)
• 83% of patients diagnosed with dementia also have hearing loss. The symptoms are the same:

Depression – Withdrawal

Negativity – Impaired memory

Frustration – Anger

Irritability – Decreased alertness

• A mild hearing loss doubles the risk of dementia.
• A moderate hearing loss increases the risk of dementia five-fold. (2)
• Damage to the nerve cells that mediate hearing also affects the nerve cells involved in memory and higher cognition. (3)
• Mild hearing loss is linked to brain atrophy. Those with hearing loss have less gray matter and decreased brain activity in their auditory cortex. (4)
• Stimulation of the neural pathways of the brain is essential for memory.
• Under-stimulation of the cognitive system leads to irreversible changes in cognitive functioning.
• Early treatment is essential in restoring cognitive function for speech perception. (5)

WHEN TREATED WITH HEARING AIDS

• 33% of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s were reclassified to a less severe category
• Improvement in memory of patients with dementia (6)
• Hearing aids can boost cognitive function 50% within a year
• 100% of caregivers said behavior improved, more social, less depressed, better attitude and, in all cases, their relationship improved.

[1] University of Florida study

[2] Frank Lin, MD, PhD; Jeffrey Metter, MD, Richard O’Brien, MD. Arch Neurol. 2011; (68); 214-220. Doi; 10.1001

[3] Dr. Richard Lipton, Neurology Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NY

[4] Jonathan Peele, PhD, Perelman School of Medicine. University of Pennsylvania

[5] Young Choi, MD, Hyun Shim, MD. Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngeolgy Vol 4, No. 2 72-76, June 2011

[6] Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngology Vol. 4, No. 2: 72-76, June 2011

⁷ http://www.aarp.org/health/brain-health/info-07-2013/hearing-loss

⁸ http://understandinghearing.com/hearing_loss/hearing_and_alheimer_s.htm

⁹ http://www.healthyhearing.com/content/articles/Hearing-loss/Causes