Got hearing aid shame?
No sense in letting age-pride
steal away your brain.
For many people the idea of needing a hearing aid is embarrassing, a sign of ageing that they don’t want to be reminded of or seen to need. Yet this shame may actually be harmful – a new study by Sarant et al. (2020) suggests that the use of a hearing aid may stave off cognitive decline.
The researchers assessed 99 adults aged between 60 and 84 before and after hearing aid use. After 18 months they found cognitive executive function (the higher level mental abilities used organise information, plan, and initiate and complete tasks) improved across the whole sample, especially in women.
Whilst sample sizes were small, the researchers also found that speech perception in quiet environments improved, as did participants’ self-reported quality of life and listening disability. This is an exciting development and, whilst further and larger studies are needed, it suggests that hearing aids may help to delay cognitive decline.
Further reading: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcm9010254