Around 360 million Americans suffer from this disability and
there has been an observed trend, which has linked hearing loss to old age.
Statistics show that around 2% of the adults, who are aged between 45 to 54
years, suffer from hearing disabilities, while this rate is estimated to
increase to 8.5% for older people aged between 55 to 64 years. Adults aged 65
to 74 years exhibit 25% cases of reported hearing loss, while 50% of the adults
aged 75 and older; actually suffer from disabling hearing loss. (National Institute on Deafness and Other
Comunications Disorders (NIDCD) ).
Study Facts And Details
A study conducted in collaboration by the John Hopkins
Institute and the National Institute on Aging, reveals a link, between the
growing probability of dementia in old individuals, to those who already suffer
from a hearing disability.
The study presents results which suggest that there is a
higher probability of older individuals suffering from dementia if they already
have a history of hearing disability, in comparison with the survey candidates,
who did not suffer from any hearing loss.(John
Hopkins Medicine, 2011)
The study results are expected to initiate new and effective
ways to fight against dementia; a condition which affects several individuals
on a global scale annually. Dr. Frank Lin has shared his views on the results
of the study and decreed that the recent research is the next step, as it
explores how the cognitive efficiency of an individual is likely to suffer, due
to hearing loss. This is because, most former research studies only explored
the factors which caused hearing loss without studying its effects on the
functioning of the human body. (John Hopkins
Medicine, 2011)
The study was conducted on a sample group of 639 people, who
had all been tested for their hearing as well as cognitive abilities, in the
Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging. A quarter of the research study
participants were known to suffer from hearing loss at the start of the
research testing procedure, but none had dementia. Then each volunteer was
observed throughout a period of two years, and it was observed that in a couple
of years’ time, 58 of them had developed symptoms of dementia. The observation
also included 37 of them, who had Alzheimer’s disease. The research study
participants were also found to be more likely to exhibit signs of dementia
towards the end of the study procedure. (The
Hearing Journal)
In comparison to the volunteers who did not suffer from
hearing loss, older individuals who suffered from mild, moderate to severe
hearing loss, had a higher possibility of developing dementia symptoms. The
study revealed that individuals with a mild hearing disability had a twofold
chance of developing dementia symptoms, while moderate and severe hearing loss
resulted in three and fivefold risks of dementia over a period of time.
Participants, who were aged 60 years or older, presented a one third risk of
dementia. (The Hearing Journal)
There are a number of symptoms which lead to the medical
condition called Dementia, which includes speech and communication impairment,
memory loss, mood swings, listlessness, difficulty in performing normal
everyday tasks, a failing sense of direction and confusion.
Hearing loss being the cause of dementia symptoms in older
individuals prompts the need for effective actions to be taken to address the
issue.
This article is written by: Dr. Lori Trentacoste, head audiologist at Island Better Hearing (www.islandbetterhearing.com)
All images and content in this article are the sole property of the
LIAHP and Dr. Trentacoste (c) 2015, All rights reserved whereby use of
this article or any content references from this article and/or other
written products in this blogsite must be done with express permission from Dr. Lori Trentacoste.
This article is written by: Dr. Lori Trentacoste, head audiologist at Island Better Hearing (www.islandbetterhearing.com)
All images and content in this article are the sole property of the
LIAHP and Dr. Trentacoste (c) 2015, All rights reserved whereby use of
this article or any content references from this article and/or other
written products in this blogsite must be done with express permission from Dr. Lori Trentacoste. References
John Hopkins Medicine.
(2011). Hearing Loss and Dementia Linked In Study. John Hiopkins
University . http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/hearing_loss_and_dementia_linked_in_study
National Institute on
Deafness and Other Comunications Disorders (NIDCD) . (n.d.). Quick
Statistics. Retrieved April 2015, from National Institute on Deafness and
Other Communications Disorders : http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/pages/quick.aspx
The Hearing Journal. Hearing
Loss Linked to Dementia. The Hearing Journal. http://journals.lww.com/thehearingjournal/Fulltext/2011/04000/Hj_Report.2.aspx
No comments:
Post a Comment