Hearing aids keep you mentally fit
Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.
More posts by Christiane Fux All content is checked by medical journalists.To hear badly is more than just annoying: Those who hear less acoustically from their surroundings also experience less mental stimulation. Older people in particular then degrade faster. Hearing aids therefore help to stay mentally fit.
Researchers led by Asri Maharani A from the University of Manchester evaluated medical data from the US Health and Retirement Study. This study followed the participants from 1996 to 2014 over a period of 18 years.
The participants' memory performance was checked every two years. Among other things, they first had to memorize a sequence of ten words over a short period of time and then recall them from memory after a while.
The researchers focused primarily on those 1,586 people who were over 50 years old and who were using a hearing aid for the first time after the third memory test.
Hearing aids slow down mental decline
The evaluation showed that mental fitness declined more slowly after using a hearing aid than without a hearing aid. The improved hearing can therefore at least slow down the age-related mental decline.
Hearing is a complex process: sound waves hit the ear, are converted into electrical signals and transmitted to the brain at lightning speed. This is where the main work begins, namely classifying and filtering the signals: important or insignificant, strange or familiar, music or language. Deciphering, processing and reacting to the latter in particular is a highly demanding process that keeps the brain busy.
Social interaction keeps you young
The sense of hearing is also crucial for social interaction. Whether concerts, movies, conversations with work colleagues or social gatherings: better hearing makes it easier to take part in everyday life and to communicate with the environment. It has long been known that social contacts are an essential factor in staying mentally fit.
"Hearing aids could alleviate the course of age-related mental decline," the researchers write. They recommend encouraging the use of hearing aids as early as possible.
Many people who are hard of hearing without hearing aids
Against this background, it seems worrying that many people in Germany who have poor hearing do not wear hearing aids. According to the Federal Guild of Hearing Acousticians, only around 3.5 million of the around 5.4 million people affected used a hearing aid in 2017.
Often times, it is vanity that keeps people from using the devices. Those who rely on it quickly feel that they are scrap heap.
Hearing aids take getting used to
In addition, the devices initially take getting used to in use. Often times, people who are hard of hearing have already got used to the fact that they no longer notice certain things. The diverse background noises, which they have not had to filter out for a long time, suddenly appear again with the hearing aid: the humming of the refrigerator, the traffic, the children playing in the garden. A bit of perseverance is required until it is easy to hear away again.
