Hearing aids can improve the daily life of people with hearing loss. But do they reduce the risk of future hearing loss?
It’s a complicated answer. Many types of hearing loss (such as age-related hearing loss) cannot be prevented by wearing hearing aids. However, hearing aids stimulate our brains and can help manage some of the invisible impacts of hearing loss while making it easier to leverage the benefits of the technology in the future.
Starting to wear hearing aids as soon as they are prescribed will provide appropriate brain stimulation.
Your brain is as important to your hearing as your ears are.
It’s important to understand how the ears work with the brain to understand brain stimulation. Our ears pick up and collect sound, but it is the job of our brains to interpret and filter the sounds. The brain’s incredible ability explains how we can hold conversations in loud restaurants or how we can ignore background noises.
Our brain is malleable and adapts to the stimulation it receives. If sound signals are weaker or incomplete (which can be the result of hearing loss), the brain fills in any gaps to help us comprehend as many sounds as possible. But this isn’t without an impact.
Some effects of reduced auditory stimulation include:
Your brain can adapt to hearing loss and help you comprehend incomplete sounds. Your brain will also adapt when it starts receiving complete or stronger sounds again.
Neuroplasticity describes the brain’s ability to create and change its internal wirings. This explains how the brain adapts to hearing loss or to new hearing aids: the brain adjusts its wiring according to the signals it receives (good or poor).
Appropriate brain stimulation offers more complete and stronger sound signals, so the brain can leverage existing pathways or create new ones. Improving neuroplasticity can reduce cognitive strain, exhaustion or fatigue that is often associated with hearing loss.
The invisible impacts of hearing loss can be improved through treatment, therapy and technology. Just as your brain changes and adapts to your hearing loss, it also adapts to treatment.
Hearing aids improve the quality of the sounds entering the ears. Increased brain stimulation can reduce cognitive strain, fatigue, exhaustion, social withdrawal and the risk of dementia.
Appropriate stimulation can potentially minimize long-term hearing atrophy. Just like how it’s easier to stay physically fit through regular exercise, auditory stimulation helps to keep the brain’s pathways related to hearing active.
However, some types of hearing loss cannot be prevented. If the hearing loss is caused by damage or degradation to the physical features of the ears, then brain stimulation will not prevent further loss but assist with listening to weaker signals.
Mental health is complex because there is rarely a single cause of challenges or illnesses. Hearing loss can contribute to cognitive fatigue, exhaustion and social isolation – which are risk factors of depression and dementia. So appropriate auditory stimulation can minimize some factors that impact mental health.
Unlike many risk factors related to mental health, hearing loss is something tangible that you can manage or treat. You can get a hearing test and understand the state of your hearing system – and then decide if technology or treatment would be helpful.
The sooner you start wearing hearing aids, the sooner your brain can adapt to the improved auditory stimulation.
For many people, this process is progressive. The steps to better hearing and appropriate sound stimulation are typically:
It can take up to four months to get used to new hearing aids because your brain has to adapt to the new sounds it is receiving. We understand this adjustment period can be unexpected or uncomfortable, but it is a sign that your brain is adapting to different auditory stimulation.
Hearing aids are a tangible solution to the invisible impacts related to hearing loss. To understand the options available for you to manage or treat your hearing challenges, book an appointment at Professional Audiology.
Visit Professional Audiology Clinic at our central Edmonton or Sherwood Park locations!
Edmonton - Hys Centre
11010-101 Street NW, Unit #107
Sherwood Park – Emerald Hills Office Tower
8005 Emerald Drive, Unit #827 (second floor)
Evening appointments available.