The Hidden Effects of Hearing Loss on the Brain
The World Health Organization considers hearing loss a global public health challenge. About 1.5 billion people worldwide have some degree of hearing loss with the count expected to rise to 2.5 billion by 2050. 430 million people need treatment for severe hearing loss, yet only about 17 percent receive it. Even those who do wait on average 7-10 years to seek treatment after first noticing the problem, and many who get hearing aids don’t wear them.
“How often do you wear your hearing aids?” she asked. “Only when I go out for meetings,” I told her. “I live in a quiet environment, and I’m sensitive to noise.” The audiologist was alarmed. I couldn’t distinguish between similar words like ‘wood’ and ‘hood,’ and background noises wiped out my ability to understand speech. After wearing hearing aids off and on for 30 years, my hearing was getting worse.
That lack of stimulation can make hearing more difficult over time, potentially impacting cognitive ability and dementia risk. But hearing loss isn’t just about volume. While the ears collect sound waves and transmit them as electrical signals, your sense of hearing manifests only when the brain interprets those signals as sound.
The Brain Burden of Hearing Loss
“There’s good evidence that if you can’t hear well, your brain works harder [to understand sound and language],” says Jonathan Peelle, cognitive psychologist in the Department of Otolaryngology at Washington University in Saint Louis. When there’s a lot of background noise, multiple speakers, rapid speech, or complex sentences, people with hearing deficits strain to listen. This extra mental burden causes stress that shows up in multiple ways, like dilated pupils, failing to remember parts of conversations, or responding incorrectly. This type of stress can sometimes be mistaken for cognitive decline in older adults.
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