Chris has been a little forgetful recently. For two months in a row, she missed her doctor’s appointment and has to reschedule. And before she went to bed she even forgot to run the dishwasher (looks like this morning she will need to handwash her coffee cup). Lately she’s been letting things fall through the cracks. Oddly, Chris doesn’t actually feel forgetful…she simply feels mentally depleted and exhausted all the time.
It can be challenging to put your finger on that feeling until it’s sneaking up on you. Frequently, though, the issue isn’t your memory, despite how forgetful you might appear. The real problem is your hearing. And that means there’s one small device, a hearing aid, that can assist you to considerably improve your memory.
How to Improve Your All-around Cognitive Function And Memory
So, having a hearing test is the first measure to improve your memory so you will remember that dentist appointment and will remember everyone’s name in the next meeting. If you have hearing loss a hearing exam will let you know how severe your impairment is.
Chris hasn’t noticed any symptoms of hearing loss yet so she hesitates to schedule an appointment. She can hear in crowded rooms fairly well enough. And when she’s working, she doesn’t have a problem hearing team members.
But she could have some degree of hearing loss even though she hasn’t observed any symptoms yet. As a matter of fact, memory loss is often one of the very first noticeable symptoms of hearing loss. And it all has to do with brain strain. It works like this:
- Slowly and almost imperceptibly, your hearing begins to diminish.
- Your ears detect a lack of sound, however mild.
- Your brain begins working a little bit harder to translate and amplify the sounds you can hear.
- You can’t notice any real difference but in order to comprehend sound your brain has to work overtime.
Your brain only has a limited amount of processing power which can really be stressed by that sort of burden. So things such as memory and cognitive function take a back seat.
Dementia And Hearing Loss
If you take memory loss to its most logical extremes, you may end up looking at something like dementia. And hearing loss and dementia do have a connection, though what the specific cause-effect relationship is, remains rather unknown. Still, there is an increased risk of cognitive decline in those who have untreated hearing loss, which can start as memory loss and ultimately (over the years) become more extreme concerns.
Wearing Hearing Aids Will Help You Prevent Fatigue
That’s why dealing with your hearing loss is necessary. Marked improvement in cognitive function was noted in 97.3% of individuals with hearing loss who used hearing aids for at least 18 months according to one study.
Various other research has revealed similar benefits. Hearing aids are really helpful. Your overall cognitive function increases when your brain doesn’t have to work as hard to hear. Memory loss and problems with cognitive function can have lots of complex factors and hearing aids aren’t always a magic bullet.
Memory Loss Can be The First Signal of Hearing Loss
This sort of memory loss is typically temporary, it’s a sign of exhaustion more than an underlying change in the way your brain operates. But that can change if the fundamental concerns remain neglected.
Loss of memory, then, can be something of an early warning system. When you first begin to detect those symptoms, you should schedule an appointment with your hearing professional. As soon as your underlying hearing problems are addressed, your memory should return to normal.
As an added benefit, your hearing health will most likely improve, too. The decline in your hearing will be slowed significantly by using hearing aids. These little devices, in a sense, will improve your general health not only your hearing.