How Memory is Impacted by Hearing Loss

Did you turn the TV up last night? If you did, it may be an indication of hearing loss. But you can't quite remember and that's an issue. And that's starting become more of an issue recently. While you were working yesterday, you couldn’t even remember your new co-worker’s name. You just met her, but still, it seems like you’re losing your grip on your hearing and your memory. And there’s only one common denominator you can think of: aging.

Now, absolutely, age can be connected to both hearing loss and memory failure. But it turns out these two age-associated conditions are also related to each other. At first, that may sound like bad news (not only do you have to deal with hearing loss, you have to work around your waning memory too, wonderful). But there can be hidden positives to this relationship.

Memory And Hearing Loss – What's The Connection?

Hearing impairment can be straining for your brain in numerous ways well before you’re aware of the diminishing prowess of your ears. Your brain, memory, and even social life can, over time, be overwhelmed by the "spillover".

How is so much of your brain impacted by hearing loss? Well, there are a number of specific ways:

• An abundance of quiet: As your hearing begins to diminish, you’re going to experience more quietness (this is particularly true if your hearing loss is neglected). This can be, well, kind of boring for the parts of your brain usually responsible for interpreting sounds. And if the brain isn't used it begins to weaken and atrophy. That can cause a certain degree of generalized stress, which can interfere with your memory.
• Social isolation: When you have difficulty hearing, you’ll likely encounter some added obstacles communicating. That can lead some individuals to isolate themselves. And isolation can result in memory issues because, once again, your brain isn’t getting as much interaction as it used to. The brain will continue to weaken the less it's used. Social isolation, depression, and memory issues will, over time, set in.
• Constant strain: Your brain will experience a hyper-activation fatigue, especially in the early phases of hearing loss. That’s because your brain will be struggling to hear what’s going on out in the world, even though there’s no input signal (it devotes a lot of energy trying to hear because without realizing you have hearing loss, it believes that everything is quiet). This can leave your brain (and your body) feeling fatigued. Loss of memory and other problems can be the outcome.

Memory Loss is an Early Warning System For Your Body

Obviously, having hearing loss isn't the only thing that leads to memory loss. There are plenty of things that can cause your memories to begin getting fuzzy, including fatigue and illness (either mental or physical varieties). As an example, eating healthy and sleeping well can help help your memory.

Consequently, memory is kind of like the canary in the coal mine for your body. Your brain starts raising red flags when things aren’t working properly. And having difficulty remembering who said what in yesterday’s meeting is one of those red flags.

Those red flags can be helpful if you’re attempting to keep an eye out for hearing loss.

Hearing Loss is Often Connected to Memory Loss

It's often difficult to recognize the early signs and symptoms of hearing loss. Hearing loss doesn't develop overnight. Once you actually notice the corresponding symptoms, the damage to your hearing tends to be farther along than most hearing specialists would like. But if you get your hearing checked soon after noticing some memory loss, you might be able to catch the issue early.

Getting Your Memories Back

In situations where your memory has already been impacted by hearing loss, either via mental fatigue or social separation, the first task is to manage the underlying hearing problem. The brain will be capable of getting back to its normal activity when it stops straining and overworking. Be patient, it can take a bit for your brain to adjust to hearing again.

The warning signs raised by your memory loss could help you be a little more aware of protecting your hearing, or at least treating your hearing loss. As the years start to add up, that’s certainly a lesson worth remembering.