South Huntsville Neighbors, June 2024

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YOUR HEALTH© Best Version MediaHearing Health Matters:Linking Hearing Loss and the BrainBy Anita Giles MS,CCC-A Audiologist,Physicians Hearing CenterLinkedIn is a networking site for professionals to connect, collaborate,share and learn. “The mission of LinkedIn is simple: connectthe world’s professionals to make them more productive andsuccessful”. Networking includes looking for new opportunities togrow and learn, developing relationships with other professionals orfriends, and 昀椀 nding information, people, and/or education options.Linking with all aspects of life requires similar networking capabilitiesfor us to be successful in life’s relationships. With hearing loss,connection and communication networks are interrupted and we areno longer linked in with life.Our body is a complex network of many necessary and in 昀氀 uentialmembers uni 昀椀 ed to make us healthy, well, and who we are. The brainis central to everything we do, think, and remember. It has billions ofnerve cells (neurons), trillions of 昀椀 bers and connections (nerve impulses)that form a network linking it to all body parts (nervous system).Nerve cells receive and send information, which is processedto make us aware of what we see, hear, smell, taste, touch, and plansour movements. The brain is the major site for thinking, awareness,behavior, feelings, and involved in learning and memory.Reasoning, memory and attention are brain functions essential forindependent living. Cognitive abilities, such as focusing, memory,ability to learn and retain new things, decrease due to the normalprocess of aging but other factors can alter function and the rateof deterioration. What happens when the brain is deprived of vitalinput for learning, information exchange and connection with othersthat is provided by the ears – the sensation of sound?Scientists have established a link between Hearing Loss (HL) andcognitive function. Physiologically, the true organ of hearing is thebrain as it assigns meaning to the sounds that are transmitted fromthe ears. Loss of hearing can impact a person’s ability to detectsound (peripheral system) as well as the ability to process or under-10 SOUTH HUNTSVILLE NEIGHBORS Submit Content at:
© Best Version Mediastand sound in the brain (central system). Sound has the power tostimulate the brain, which is why HL can have a profound impact onhealth. People with untreated HL have been found to show cognitivedecline 30-40% faster than someone without HL. Brain scanshave shown that (HL) contributes to a faster rate of brain atrophy orshrinkage.Identifying and treating HL is important. Fewer sounds makingtheir way to the brain (auditory deprivation), shifts how it operatesand the ability to “hear’ or make sense of sound informationis lost. The auditory area shrinks or is reassigned to other tasks.Untreated HL overworks the brain requiring assistance from theparts of the brain involved in thinking and memory, decreasingbrain ef 昀椀 ciency. Social isolation often occurs when you can’t hear,decreasing brain stimulation.next steps for treatment. Properly 昀椀 t hearing aids are known to reducelistening effort, leaving more cognitive resources available forother brain tasks, re-stimulate areas of the brain that been depriveddue to loss of sensation, and improve social communication. Understandingthe link between HL and brain 昀椀 tness helps you improveyour overall health.June is Alzheimer's Awareness Monthwww.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2020.00093/fullwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3096191/www.ncoa.org/adviser/hearing-aids/hearing-loss-america/With life expectancy getting longer, making this added time healthy,enjoyable and productive is linked to preventing and controllingchronic diseases and conditions. Auditory deprivation can limit thequality of life and independence. Although HL doesn’t cause dementia,it increases the risk for developing dementia and SHOULDNOT be ignored.Experts consider treating HL as a proactive step to help lower therisk of cognitive decline. The adage “use it or lose it” applies tobrain and hearing health. Choose to “Use it and Improve it” by havingyour hearing evaluated and treated. Schedule an evaluation withan audiologist to determine presence, type, and severity of HL andHelping You LiveYour Best LifeNon-Invasive Solutions That CanRestore Your Health and happinessSERVICES• Peripheral Neuropathy• Chronic Knee Pain• Back Pain• Shoulder Pain• Hip Pain• Arm and Hand Pain• Foot and Ankle PainFIONA WELLNESSCENTER2905 Bob Wallace AvenueHuntsville, AL 35805256-489-3500AESTHETIC SERVICES• EMSCULPT• Non-InvasiveDr. Christine Spurlock DCbestversionmedia.com JUNE 2024 11
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