Hearing Loss Affects People with Alzheimer’s Disease

If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or is showing signs of dementia, a thorough hearing check is in order.


There is strong evidence that hearing impairment contributes to the progression of cognitive dysfunction in older adults. If not managed, as for example with hearing aids, hearing loss can interrupt the cognitive processing of spoken language and sound.

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 loved one has been treated for hearing loss.

“When left unaddressed, hearing loss can compound the difficulties that people with Alzheimer’s and their families already face,” says Paul Lloyd, Audioprosthologist at Edison Stanford Hearing Centers. “But in many cases, the appropriate use of hearing aids can benefit Alzheimer’s patients.”

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.

“A comprehensive hearing assessment should be part of any Alzheimer’s diagnosis and any hearing loss should be appropriately addressed,” says Lloyd. “By addressing the hearing loss, we can help improve quality-of-life for those who have Alzheimer’s and help them live as fully as possible.”

About Alzheimer’s Disease

(Source: Alzheimer’s Association)

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive and fatal brain disease that causes problems with memory loss, thinking and behavior. Today, as many as 5.3 million Americans have Alzheimer’s and it is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. In fact, from 2000 to 2006, deaths attributed to Alzheimer’s disease increased 47.1 percent. With a rapidly aging population, Alzheimer's will continue to impact more lives in the coming years. (Source: Alzheimer’s Association)

The Alzheimer’s Association has organized an awareness campaign, “Know the 10 Signs: Early Detection Matters,” that identifies the warning signs of Alzheimer’s. Any individual experiencing one or more of the signs should see a doctor to find the cause.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, the 10 signs include:

• Memory changes that disrupt daily life

• Challenges in planning or solving problems

• Difficulty completing familiar tasks

• Confusion with time or place

• Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships

• New problems with words in speaking or writing

• Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps

• Decreased or poor judgment

• Withdrawal from work or social activities

• Changes in mood and personality

For more information about the 10 warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease, early detection and diagnosis, contact the Alzheimer’s Association at 877.IS.IT.ALZ (877.474.8259) or visit www.alz.org/10signs.

Seven Reasons You Hear Better With Two Ears

It is called binaural listening: bi for two; and aural for ears. The human hearing mechanism is the most advanced stereophonic wonder known to man. With all of its amazing accuracy and versatility, it provides the listener with space perception, depth perception and balance.

Hearing does not happen in your ears, it happens in your brain. Your brain requires reliable information from your ears in order to decipher sound. Using just one hearing aid when hearing test results indicate that two are needed reduces your brain's chances of hearing and understanding by 50 percent, as well as removes your ability to perceive depth and space. Here are seven reasons to wear two hearing aids if indicated by your hearing test:

1. Less power needed when two hearing aids are worn. When your ears work together, lower volume settings are required for comfortable hearing. You will experience greater efficiency and clarity with two hearing aids as compared to monaural listening. The reduced need for power saves your hearing from damage caused by excessive amplification. The benefits are that loud sounds are more comfortable and listening is less stressful.

2. Stereo listening gives depth perception. Anyone who has enjoyed music in stereo, compared to mono, knows the difference. Mono makes all sounds seem shallow, flat, and unnatural. Your brain has the ability to hear in stereo but to do so requires that sounds be delivered by both ears. Not only are sounds more natural, they can also be understood more clearly.

3. Detecting sound direction saves embarrassment and saves lives. A one-eared listener is always wondering "where is that sound coming from?" when someone speaks. He can also never tell from which direction the screeching automobile is coming, unless he sees it. Hearing with two ears gives you the ability to know sound direction. Binaural listening gives the listener a sens of location and the ability to locate sounds not only horizontally but also but also vertically, 360 degrees in all directions.

4. Good manners takes two ears. One-eared listeners may be considered rude because they tend to ignore the speaker on their unaided side. In business and social situations binaural hearing aids can be your best ally for being the best listener possible.

5. Give your brain what it needs for auditory intelligence. The two halves of your brain work in harmony to give you an auditory image. Just as your brain converts the two images your two eyes see into a single picture, the same special perception happens with your two ears. It is the different signal each ear sends to your brain that makes this perception possible. The ears' sound signals travel up the brain stem via complicated pathways. Some cross over and eventually stimulate the opposite side of the brain. Other stimulate the same side. These complex patterns of stimulation make up auditory intelligence. If the two halves aren't sharing their signals, auditory intelligence is reduced. Binaural hearing aids help the ears get the messages to both sides of the brain, thus increasing your auditory intelligence.

6. Two ears hear better in noise. Whenever several people are talking at the same time, such as in a restaurant, it becomes more difficult to understand the one person at the table with you. The one-eared listener hears all of the voices blending together. Voice discrimination in noise is difficult with two ears and becomes impossible with only one. Binaural hearing aids give the best advantage to hearing in noise.

7. Quality of sound is better quality of life. The majority of hearing aid users who have worn both binaural and monaural hearing aids report a significant difference in sound quality. The vast majority of people who now use binaural hearing aids will tell you that listening with two aided ears is the only way to fully enjoy the 3D world we live in. The advantages of superior sound over the burden of persistently poor sound should not be underestimated. Seize the opportunity to enhance your listening quality, should your test results indicate two hearing aids are needed.

MP3s 'to blame' for hearing loss

By Sima Kotecha a  BBC Newsbeat US reporter

Up to six and a half million teenagers in America struggle to hear whispered conversations or leaves rustling in the wind.

That's according to researchers in Boston, Massachusetts who say a growing number of 12 to 19 year olds have suffered slight hearing loss.

Doctors are putting the blame on MP3 players causing damage to the hearing of young people.
The study used data from a nationwide health survey.

It compared hearing loss in 3,000 teenagers from 1988-94 and then compared it with similar data from 2005-06.

The researchers say hearing loss has increased by 19% during that time, meaning one in five teenagers now has some sort of hearing damage.

Listen carefully

Some experts say it means teenagers should turn down the volume on their MP3 players and listen for less time.

But there's no absolute proof that the apparent hearing loss is a direct result of MP3 players or earphones.
"Our hope is we can encourage people to be careful", said the study's senior author, Dr. Gary Curhan of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
Most of the hearing loss was "slight", defined as inability to hear at 16 to 24 decibels.

A teenager with slight hearing loss might not be able to hear a tap dripping or their partner whispering "good night."

Those with slight hearing loss "will hear all of the vowel sounds clearly, but might miss some of the consonant sounds" such as t, k and s, according to Doctor Curhan.

He added: "I think the evidence is out there that prolonged exposure to loud noise is likely to be harmful to hearing, but that doesn't mean kids can't listen to MP3 players".

Each new generation of teenagers has found new ways to listen to loud music.

Brian Fligor, an audiologist at Children's Hospital Boston, said: "Today's young people are listening longer, more than twice as long as previous generations".

Degree of Hearing Loss

Results of the audiometric evaluation are plotted on a chart called an audiogram. Loudness is plotted from top to bottom. Frequency, from low to high, is plotted from left to right. Hearing loss (HL) is measured in decibels (dB) and is described in general categories. Hearing loss is not measured in percentages. The general hearing loss categories used by most hearing professionals are as follows:

_____Normal hearing (0 to 25 dB HL)
_____Mild hearing loss (26 to 40 dB HL)
_____Moderate hearing loss (41 to 70 dB HL)
_____Severe hearing loss (71 to 90 dB HL)
_____Profound hearing loss (greater than 91 dB HL)