It’s impossible to forget getting your first car. The sense of freedom was unprecedented. At any moment you could call some friends and go wherever you wanted. For many, getting their first hearing aids is a similar experience.
How could investing in your first set of hearing aids be like getting your first car? Although there are well known benefits to being able to hear better, there are some less obvious ones which will help you maintain your independent lifestyle. It so happens that your brain’s functionality is greatly affected by hearing loss.
Neuroplasticity
The following example demonstrates exactly how your brain responds to changes: Taking the exact same route as you always do, you set off for work. Now, suppose you go to make a turn and you find that the road is closed. What is your response to this problem? Is quitting and going back home a good decision? Unless of course you’re looking for a reason to not go to work, probably not. You would most likely immediately seek a different route. If that new route happened to be even quicker, or if the primary route remained restricted, the new route would come to be the new routine.
The same process happens inside of your brain when a “normal” function is blocked or else not working. The brain reroutes its processing along with alternative paths, and this re-routing process is defined as neuroplasticity.
Neuroplasticity can help you master new languages, or to learn new abilities like playing an instrument or forming healthy habits. Tasks that were once-challenging come to be automatic as physical changes to the brain slowly adapt to match the new pathways. Even though neuroplasticity can be beneficial for learning new skills, it can also be just as good at causing you to you forget what you know.
How Does Neuroplasticity Relate to Hearing Loss?
Hearing loss is the perfect example of how neuroplasticity has a negative impact on your day-to-day life. As explained in The Hearing Review, The pathways in your brain will immediately start to be re-purposed if they quit processing sound according to a report done by the University of Colorado. This is something you may not want it to be working on. The association between hearing loss and cognitive decay can be explained by this.
When you have hearing loss, the areas of your brain responsible for functions, like vision or touch, can take over the less-utilized areas of the brain responsible for hearing. The available resources inside your brain used to process sound are diminished and so is your ability to understand speech.
So, if you are continuously asking people to repeat themselves, loss of hearing has already started. In addition, it may be a more significant problem than injury to your inner ear, it’s probable that the neglected loss of hearing has induced your brain structure to change.
How Hearing Aids Can Help You
This ability of your brain has an upside and a negative. Neuroplasticity may make your hearing loss worse, but it also improves the performance of hearing aids. Thanks to your brain’s talent of regenerating tissue and to reroute neural paths, you can maximize the advanced technology inside your ear. Because the hearing aids stimulate the parts of the brain that regulate loss of hearing, they encourage mental growth and development.
In fact, a long-term study was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. It found that wearing a set of hearing aids decreased cognitive decline in people with hearing loss. The study, titled Self-Reported Hearing Loss: Hearing Aids and Cognitive Decline in Elderly Adults: A 25-year Study, followed over three thousand adults over the age of 65. What the scientists discovered was that the rate of cognitive decline was higher in those with hearing loss compared to those with healthy hearing. However, people that used hearing aids to correct their hearing loss displayed no difference in the rate of cognitive decline as compared to those with normal hearing.
The most useful part of this study is that we can verify what we already understand about neuroplasticity: the brain will coordinate functions according to the current need and the amount of stimulation it receives. To put it another way, you need to, “use it or lose it.”
Preserving a Young Brain
It doesn’t matter how old you are, the versatility of the brain means it can modify itself at any time. You should also take into consideration that hearing loss can hasten mental decline and that this decline can be decreased or even prevented by wearing hearing aids.
Hearing aids are sophisticated hearing enhancement technology, not just over-the-counter amplifiers. According to leading brain plasticity expert Dr. Michael Merzenich, by challenging yourself to engage in new activities, being socially active, and maybe even practicing mindfulness you can increase your brain’s performance regardless of your age is.
Hearing aids are an important part of guaranteeing your quality of life. Those who have loss of hearing often become withdrawn or isolated. If you would like to remain active and independent, invest in a pair of hearing aids. Don’t forget that if you want your brain to stay as young as you feel it needs to keep processing sound and receiving stimulation.
