Hear to Think: Protecting Brain Health Through Better Hearing

How Does Hearing Loss Impact Brain Health And Cognition?

Your brain and ears share a remarkable relationship that goes far beyond simple sound perception. In this eye-opening episode, Dr. Jill Copley reveals the powerful connection between hearing health and cognitive function that could change how you think about those missed conversations.

Did you know that untreated hearing loss actually causes parts of your brain to atrophy and shrink? Dr. Copley walks us through fascinating research showing how hearing difficulties force your brain to work harder (called cognitive load), potentially accelerating memory problems and cognitive decline. We explore multiple pathways through which hearing loss impacts brain health—from social isolation to physical changes in brain structure—all supported by over a decade of large-scale, peer-reviewed studies.

But there's hopeful news too. Proper hearing aid use can reverse some brain changes in as little as six months, demonstrating our brain's remarkable ability to heal when given proper stimulation. Dr. Copley emphasizes the importance of early intervention, recommending initial hearing evaluations between ages 50-55, even without noticeable hearing difficulties. The comprehensive approach at Total Hearing Care includes cognitive screening to catch potential issues before they progress.

Whether you're concerned about your own hearing or care for someone who struggles to follow conversations, this episode provides critical information about protecting brain health through better hearing. Take the first step toward preserving your cognitive function by scheduling a hearing evaluation today—because when you hear better, you truly do live better.

To learn more about Total Hearing Care visit:
https://www.TotalHearingCare.com

Total Hearing Care
Multiple Locations Across the DFW Metroplex
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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Total Hearing Care Difference where we
help you experience lifethrough better hearing.
Hosted by the experts at TotalHearing Care, a leading private
audiology practice serving theDFW Metroplex, we're here to
provide guidance on hearing loss, tinnitus and the latest
advancements in audiology.
Transform your life throughbetter hearing.

(00:22):
Let's get started.
Transform your life throughbetter hearing.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Let's get started.
Hearing loss is more than aninconvenience.
It's a cognitive concern.
Learn how untreated hearingissues may affect memory, mental
sharpness and long-term brainhealth.
Welcome back everyone.
I'm Sofia Yvette, co-host slashproducer, back in the studio
with Dr Jill Copley.

(00:46):
Dr Copley, how's it going today?

Speaker 3 (00:50):
Oh, I'm great, I'm glad to be here to talk about
cognition and brain health.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
Yes, and I am so glad to have you back on today.
Now, today we're tuning into adeeper conversation how hearing
connects to the brain and whatthat means for long life
wellness.
So, Dr Copley, how does hearingloss impact brain health and
cognition?

Speaker 3 (01:15):
Okay, so that is a complex question, but there are
probably since 2010, 2011,there's been a lot of large
scale studies peer,peer-reviewed studies which are
important when we look atstudies linking hearing loss to
cognitive decline and memoryloss, and so we want to affect

(01:38):
that in the way we can, which isto help people hear better.
So there's a lot of theories asto why this may happen.
One of them is that people withhearing loss may not be as
social, and of course, there'slots of studies out there that
show that if you're more social,you have a close-knit group of

(02:00):
friends or family you tend tolive longer, you tend to stay
sharper, as you mentioned, andso people might start to isolate
themselves if they have hearingloss.
Another theory is calledcognitive load.
When you don't have hearing loss, your brain is able to process

(02:20):
a lot of different things in theenvironment, whether it be
background noise, bad acoustics,things like that.
When you have hearing loss,it's much harder for your brain
to process that information.
Your brain is working harder.
When your brain has to workharder, then you have more

(02:41):
cognitive load that you'redealing with.
Also, studies have shown thatyou actually have brain changes
when you can't hear.
So we think about hearing lossas just sound going into the
ears, but actually the brainprocesses that information and
some of the studies have shownthat your brain cells and parts

(03:06):
of your brain will atrophy andnot work as well when you have
hearing loss.

Speaker 2 (03:12):
Wow.
Now what does current researchsay about the link between
hearing loss and cognitivedecline?

Speaker 3 (03:22):
So that research that started in 2011 has just
continued and the studies arevery consistent.
What they're looking at now ishow do hearing aids actually
affect cognitive decline?
So we know that they're relatedand we've shown proof of that

(03:44):
through all these studies overthe past 20, 25 years, but do
hearing aids actually help?
So hearing aids can help,certainly with isolation, with
cognitive load.
There are some studies showingthat hearing instruments will
help change that brain atrophyand actually reverse it.

(04:09):
So that's good news, and thereare some smaller studies showing
that hearing instruments areimproving cognitive decline.
There are other studies thatshow that's not happening.
However, in the studies that doshow that it's happening,
they're actually looking atseverity of hearing loss, and so

(04:31):
people that have a certainseverity are probably going to
do better and have lesscognitive decline, whereas the
other studies are just based onpeople saying they have hearing
loss, so it's not actuallylooking at the true hearing loss
per se looking at the truehearing loss per se.

Speaker 2 (04:55):
Now, how can hearing aids help?

Speaker 3 (04:56):
preserve brain function over time.
So, like I said, there's severaldifferent aspects to that.
I really like the studies thatare showing that hearing loss
causes some atrophy in the brainand then when you wear hearing
aids it may be only for sixmonths you start to see less
atrophy and the brain starts towork better.

(05:18):
So I'm sure people have heardthat when your brain isn't
functioning for one thing, likemaybe a vision loss, then the
brain is going to use theoccipital lobe to do other
things, and that's the samething with hearing loss.
Your temporal lobe, wherehearing occurs, isn't working as
well, so maybe your visiontakes over and is helping you,

(05:42):
but what these studies areshowing is that the brain can
actually change back and use thetemporal lobe, and so I think
that's where the excitingresearch is.
But, as you've mentioned andwe've said, it also helps with
social isolation.
One study and this was done along time ago, I think 98, 99,

(06:04):
showed that people said thatwhen they wore hearing
instruments their healthactually got better, and I found
that interesting, because we'renot giving medication, you're
not having surgery, we're notdoing anything like that except
having you listen better, and sothere are a lot of health
effects, as well as braineffects.

Speaker 2 (06:27):
Wow, now are there any other main things you would
like to capitalize off of today?
Dr Copley, when it comes tohearing losses impact on brain
health and cognition.

Speaker 3 (06:42):
Well, I think there's two things.
First is get your hearingchecked early, and so it's
recommended now that you have atleast your first hearing exam
between like the ages of 50 and55.
If we catch it early, your rateof cognitive decline will slow
down.
Now we may not be able toprevent dementia, because

(07:04):
dementia, as we probably suspect, has some genetic components to
it, but we want to preventcognitive decline, and the way
we can do that is catch it early, get you fit with hearing
instruments, and so a good placeto start.
One of the things we do is wedo a cognitive screening,

(07:25):
because if you fail thatcognitive screening, then we can
get you to a neurologist oryour physician to address it and
do more testing, because thesooner you address that and the
sooner you address your hearing,the better it's going to be and
it will keep you healthier longterm.

Speaker 2 (07:45):
Amazing.
Wow, this is such an importanttopic that we're covering today.
It really is.
It really is.
Thank you so much for walkingus through the science and care
strategies.
We'll see you again soon formore insights on the Total
Hearing Care Difference podcast.

Speaker 3 (08:05):
Thank you so much for having me.

Speaker 1 (08:22):
Thank you for listening, for having me,
because when you hear better,you live better.
See you next time.