Hearing Aids Can Restore Your Independence if You Have Hearing Loss

Do you remember getting your first car? The feeling of freedom was unprecedented. At any time you could get in touch with some friends and go wherever you wanted. Many people with loss of hearing have this same type of experience when they get their first hearing aids.

Why would getting your first pair of hearing aids be similar to getting your first car? There are some subtle reasons why having hearing aids will help you make sure you don't lose your independence. As it turns out, your hearing has a significant impact on your brain's functionality.

Neuroplasticity

To show how well your brain will react to change, consider this: You're on your way to your job, following the same route you always do. As you go to make the first left you find that the road is blocked. What is your reaction to this problem? Is quitting and going back home an option? Probably not unless of course you're looking for a reason to avoid the office. You would probably quickly find an alternate way to go. As long as your regular route was closed this new route would become your new routine. If the new route ended up being even more efficient, you would replace the old one with it.

When a normal brain function is blocked, your brain does the same thing. The brain reroutes its processing down new pathways, and this re-routing process is called neuroplasticity.

Perfecting new skills such as playing an instrument, or learning a new language are achieved by neuroplasticity. It also helps you build healthy habits. Little by little, the physical changes to the brain adjust to correspond to the new paths and tasks that were once challenging become automatic. Even though neuroplasticity can be beneficial for learning new things, it's also just as good at causing you to you forget what you already 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, researchers at the University of Colorado found that even in the early stages of hearing loss, when your brain stops working to process sounds, it will be re-purposed for something else. And it probably isn't ideal for them to change in that way. This reorganization of your brain's function explains the link between hearing loss and cognitive decrease.

When you have hearing loss, the areas of your brain in charge of functions, like vision or touch, can solicit the less-utilized pathways of the brain responsible for hearing. This diminishes the brain’s available resources for processing sound, and it weakens our capability of understanding speech.

So, if you find yourself asking “what was that?” regularly, you already have loss of hearing. And even more important is the fact that your brain might already be beginning to restructure.

Can Hearing Aids Help You

As with most things, you get both a negative and positive angle to this amazing ability. Neuroplasticity enhances the performance of your hearing aids even though it may possibly cause your hearing loss to get worse. Thanks to your brain's talent of regenerating tissue and to reroute neural paths, you can maximize the technology at your ear. As the hearing aids activate the parts of the brain that regulate hearing loss, they stimulate mental growth and development.

The American Geriatrics Society published a long term study, in fact. Cognitive decline was decreased in people who wear hearing aids, according to this study. 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. The study showed that people with hearing loss had a higher rate of cognitive decline. However, participants that used hearing aids to correct their hearing loss showed no difference in the rate of cognitive decline as compared to those with normal hearing.

We already knew a lot about neuroplasticity and this research verifies that knowledge: the brain will organize functions according to your need and the amount of stimulus it is given. To put it another way, you need to, "use it or lose it."

Preserving a Youthful Brain

The bottom line is, the brain is powerful and can adapt itself significantly no matter what your age or stage in life. It's also important to note that hearing loss can accelerate mental decline and that this decline can be reduced or even averted by using hearing aids.

Hearing aids are state-of-the-art hearing enhancement technology, not just over-the-counter amplifiers. According to leading brain plasticity expert Dr. Michael Merzenich, you can enhance your brain function regardless of any health issues by pushing yourself to accomplish challenging new tasks, being active socially, and practicing mindfulness among other strategies.

Hearing aids are an important part of guaranteeing your quality of life. Becoming isolated and withdrawn is a common problem for those with hearing loss. If you would like to remain active and independent, get a pair of hearing aids. After all, you want your brain to continue receiving stimulation and processing the sounds that you hear so it will stay as young as you feel!