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| LISTEN UP: Hearing problems can be an indication of more serious health conditions |
SCIENTISTS have discovered that losing your hearing early greatly increases the risk of premature death.
MILLIONS of people in the UK who are in denial about their hearing problems are literally turning a deaf ear to their health and wellbeing. It is estimated that 10 million people have impaired hearing but two out of five of those who would benefit from using hearing aids don’t realise they have an issue.
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| Scientists have discovered that losing your hearing even increases the risk of losing your life |
Shockingly, another 600,000 who have hearing aids are not wearing them. And they could be missing a lot more than small talk. It’s common knowledge that routine eye tests and dental checks can pick up other conditions such as diabetes and some cancers but it’s now becoming clear that hearing tests and using hearing aids to overcome issues can help head off a lot of other health problems.
Scientists have discovered that losing your hearing even increases the risk of losing your life.
An Australian study of 2,956 people over the age of 49 found that hearing loss was linked to an increased risk of premature death from any cause and American and Icelandic researchers who examined the health records of almost 5,000 older men and women reported a similar link.
The American study found that people with hearing loss were particularly vulnerable to heart problems and strokes, even after other risk factors such as cholesterol, obesity and smoking were taken into account.
But, curiously, wearing a hearing aid was shown to reduce the risk of death. Diana Fisher from the American National Institutes of Health, who headed the study, admits: “We have no firm explanation for this but we know a hearing aid can reduce the social isolation often experienced by those with hearing impairment.”
Some degree of hearing loss is inevitable as we age but the decline starts much sooner than we realise and some high frequencies have already been lost by our 20s. Teenagers sometimes use these high pitches as ringtones so they can take mobile phone calls without being caught out by teachers.
But it works both ways and some shopping centres employ these high frequencies to deter young people from congregating in public areas. The most common form of hearing damage is known as sensorineural loss which is caused by damage to tiny hair cells inside the inner ear that convert sound vibrations into electrical signals which are then relayed to the brain via auditory nerves.
These hair cells deteriorate as we get older but they can also be damaged by exposure to loud noise. Dr Lorraine Gailey of the charity Hearing Link says the number of younger people with problems is rising dramatically because of the popularity of listening to personal music players using earpieces and headphones.
It’s estimated that two out of five over-50s have some hearing loss and of those in their 70s and beyond, seven out of 10 are affected. Because the decline is usually very gradual it’s often family and friends who are the first to suspect a problem because they are having to repeat what they say or they find the television too loud.
Another common clue is finding it difficult to follow conversations, particularly if you’re in a group and there’s a lot of background noise. But if you suspect a problem, having a hearing test could save your life. Sugar hush The link between diabetes and eye problems is well known but scientists have now discovered a clear link between blood sugar problems and hearing loss.
Having diabetes doubles the risk of poor hearing and people with impaired glucose tolerance, which is sometimes described as pre-diabetes, are 30 per cent more likely to have hearing issues. Further evidence of a link came from a recent study of almost 3,000 over-50s which confirmed that having a diet high in sugar and simple carbohydrate, which the body converts into blood sugar, increases the risk of hearing problems by 76 per cent.
High blood sugar levels are known to cause nerve damage and scientists suspect that hearing problems stem from sugar damage to the nerves which relay electrical impulses from the ears to the brain. Fall out Every year one in three people over 65 has a serious fall, every hour someone dies as a result of breaking a hip – and even a mild hearing problem triples the risk of a slip.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University who screened 2,017 Americans aged 40 to 69 found that those with a 25-decibel loss, which is considered mild, were three times more likely to have suffered a fall. For every additional 10-decibel loss the risk climbed by 40 per cent. Dr Frank Lin says hearing problems are likely to reduce awareness of the surrounding environment which could increase the risk of falls. However, there may be more to it.
He explains: “Gait and balance are things most people take for granted but they are very cognitively demanding. If hearing loss imposes a cognitive load there may be fewer cognitive resources to help with maintaining balance and gait.”
Brain drain Hearing can have a huge impact on your risk of dementia, studies have shown. And it’s not simply because both become more common as we grow old. Dr Lin, who has studied several aspects of hearing loss, found that mild hearing loss doubled the risk of dementia and the greater the hearing loss, the greater the risk.
Moderate hearing impairment triples the risk and severe hearing problems increase the risk of dementia by a factor of five. Hearing loss leads to social isolation and depression but it may accelerate damage to the brain too.
Dr Lin says: “Brain scans show us that hearing loss may contribute to a faster rate of atrophy in the brain.” But Dr Gailey from Hearing Link warns: “There may be people who are misdiagnosed with dementia who are just not hearing properly. If someone is asked a simple question and gives a bizarre answer it may be put down to dementia.”
At a stroke Stroke can cause hearing loss and scientists have discovered that hearing problems can be a clue to stroke risk, but there is an ongoing chicken-and-egg debate about which comes first. After ruling out other risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, age and diabetes, one study found that even mild hearing problems increased the odds of a stroke by a third.
Another confirmed that people who experience sudden hearing loss are at increased risk of suffering a stroke in the next five years. Listen to your heart So many studies point to a link between hearing and cardiovascular health, one expert says: “The ear may be the window to the heart.”
Professor Charles Bishop, an international authority on hearing who is based at the University of Mississippi, says there is a “compelling relationship between acquired hearing impairment and poor cardiovascular fitness and hypertension”. He has called for greater collaboration between hearing and heart specialists and hopes that the increased use of electronic records will help pick up problems sooner.
Amplifon, the world’s leading hearing aid specialists, offer comprehensive free hearing tests at any of their 200 branches nationwide. To book a test, call freephone 0800 023 4876 or visit amplifon.co.uk/express
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