Tryon Hearing Center

Tryon Hearing Center is raising awareness of the association between hearing health and Alzheimer’s disease and is underscoring the importance of addressing hearing loss for the benefit of overall cognitive function.

According to a study published in the Archives of Neurology, older adults with hearing loss appear more likely to develop dementia, and their risk increases as hearing loss becomes more severe. The researchers found that the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease specifically increased with hearing loss. For every 10 decibels of hearing loss, the extra risk of developing Alzheimer’s increased by 20 percent.
“There is strong evidence that hearing impairment contributes to the progression of cognitive dysfunction in older adults,” says Sergei Kochkin, PhD, BHI’s Executive Director. “Unmanaged hearing loss can interrupt the cognitive processing of spoken language and sound, exhaust cognitive reserve, and lead to social isolation—regardless of other coexisting conditions. But when an individual has both Alzheimer’s and hearing loss, many of the symptoms of hearing loss can interact with those common to Alzheimer’s, making the disease more difficult than it might be if the hearing loss had been addressed.”

Numerous studies have linked untreated hearing loss to a wide range of physical and emotional conditions, including impaired memory and ability to learn new tasks, reduced alertness, increased risk to personal safety, irritability, negativism, anger, fatigue, tension, stress, depression, and diminished psychological and overall health.
According to a study at Brandeis University, older adults with mild to moderate hearing loss expended so much cognitive energy on trying to hear accurately that it diminished their ability to remember a short word list. As a result, their cognitive function was poorer than those individuals of the same age that had good hearing.


Studies also have shown that although a significantly higher percentage of patients with Alzheimer’s disease may have hearing loss, they are much less likely to receive attention for their hearing needs than their normally aging peers.
Research has shown that the use of hearing aids, especially in combination with appropriate aural rehabilitation in a multidisciplinary setting, has helped to reduce Alzheimer’s patients’ symptoms of depression, passivity, negativism, disorientation, anxiety, social isolation, feelings of helplessness, loss of independence and general cognitive decline.
“A comprehensive hearing assessment should be part of any Alzheimer’s diagnosis and any hearing loss should be addressed,” says Kochkin. “Most hearing loss can be managed with hearing aids. By addressing hearing loss, we can help improve quality-of-life for people with Alzheimer’s so they can live as fully as possible. These individual’s—and their families and caregivers—face many challenges. Untreated hearing loss shouldn’t have to be one of them.”

About Alzheimer’s Disease
Source: Alzheimer’s Disease International

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia and accounts for 50 to 60 percent of all cases. Dementia is a collective name for progressive degenerative brain syndromes, which affect memory, thinking, behavior, and emotion.
Alzheimer’s disease destroys brain cells and nerves, disrupting the transmitters that carry messages in the brain, particularly those responsible for storing memories. Alzheimer’s disease was first described by Alois Alzheimer in 1906.
During the course of Alzheimer’s disease, nerve cells die in particular regions of the brain. The brain shrinks as gaps develop in the temporal lobe and hippocampus, which are responsible for storing and retrieving new information. This in turn affects people’s ability to remember, speak, think and make decisions. The production of certain chemicals in the brain, such as acetylcholine is also affected. It is not known what causes nerve cells to die but there are characteristic appearances of the brain after death. In particular, ‘tangles’ and ‘plaques’ made from protein fragments are observed under the microscope in damaged areas of brain. This confirms the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
Symptoms

Typically, Alzheimer’s disease begins with lapses of memory, difficulty in finding the right words for everyday objects, or mood swings. As Alzheimer’s progresses, the person may:

• Routinely forget recent events, names and faces, and have difficulty in understanding what is being said

• Become confused when handling money or driving a car

• Undergo personality changes, appearing to no longer care about those around them

• Experience mood swings and burst into tears for no apparent reason, or become convinced that someone is trying to harm them
In advanced cases people may also:

• Adopt unsettling behavior like getting up in the middle of the night or wander off and become lost

• Lose their inhibitions and sense of suitable behavior

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Antioxidants and hearing loss Severe hearing loss is the third most prevalent chronic condition in older Americans and more than 15% of people in their 30s are also affected. The condition leads to communication problems, social i

As a hearing specialist, one of the most negative self inflicted actions that someone can endeavor is to use cotton swabs in the ear canals. This of course comes in a distant second to excessive and damaging noise exposure, but cotton swabs are a problem. The first and thankfully most rare occurrence as it relates to cotton swab use is the puncture of the ear drum. This can cause permanent hearing difficulties. The much more common use of cotton swabs occurs after bathing or showering. Cotton swabs, inserted and rotated in the ear canal, have the effect of removing the very thin, protective layer of earwax that resides in the ear. That layer of earwax is there to keep the canal from drying out, and to slow and/or stop insects from being able to advance deeper into the ear canal. While the cotton swab, or, perish the thought; keys, bobby pins, etc., is in the canal, the nerve endings are sending a message to the brain that says ‘there’s a foreign object in the ear canal, we must increase earwax production in order to push it out’. Over time this causes an increase in earwax production. As we age the earwax in our ears dries more rapidly and as a result can cause a wall of wax to occlude, or block, the ear canal, depriving that ear of hearing. Using cotton swabs will cause incredible itching in the ear canal for two reasons; the canal will dry rapidly after water exposure creating the itching sensation which is exacerbated by a lack of earwax for moisture retention, and the ceruminous (earwax) glands are stimulated to increase production which also increased the itchy feeling in the ear canal. So, what should you put in your ear canal, that depends on your situation. For most of us putting nothing into our ear canal is the absolute best course of action. Some people recommend elbows to elicit a laugh, but I wouldn’t want to encourage a contortionist to prove me wrong. What should you do if your ears do itch? Tough it out for the less than 60 seconds it will take to resolve itself. What if earwax has dried and has completely blocked the ear canal? Go see your primary care physician, or a hearing specialist for further recommendations. If the recommendation includes an earwax softener like Dubrox, you might consider using hydrogen peroxide instead. As it stands, hydrogen peroxide is the main ingredient in Dubrox, along with an oil base. Ear candling does work, however fire around hair is extremely dangerous. In summation, use of cotton swabs causes drying of the canal which leads to itching. Usage also causes the canal to increase earwax production which also increases the itching. There is a risk of puncture to the eardrum, which is powerfully painful, and possibly detrimental long term to speech understanding. There is no positive to cotton swab usage, and only negatives. Even the manufacturer of Q-tip brand cotton swabs agrees with this position posting on their product packaging the warning, and I quote “WARNING: Do not insert swab into ear canal. Entering the ear canal could cause injury. If used to clean ears stroke swab gently around the outer surface of the ear only.” That’s fairly unambiguous. You will never find a hearing specialist, Otolaryngologist, or any other hearing discipline in any way recommend cotton swab usage. What you will find is exactly the information presented here. With the intention of protecting your hearing and health.

Personal Health: Lifelines for People With Hearing Loss This “hidden” disability, currently untreated in about 85 percent of those affected, may be the nation’s most damaging sensory handicap.