IT’S BETTER HEARING MONTH HEAR WELL!

was cutting out. This missing letter situation increases listening effort and has been shown in recent research literature to contribute to earlier cognitive decline. Other factors that contribute to listening effort are background noise, clarity of the signal, and speech processing.

Much of the research and development for hearing technology has been focused on reducing listening effort. One promising study concluded that people who have treated hearing loss (people who wore hearing aids) have the same rate and age of onset for dementia as those who have normal hearing, while people with untreated hearing loss had a higher rate and earlier onset for dementia. When listening effort is reduced by wearing hearing aids, the brain has more processing power for other important things like memory.

Treating hearing loss is not just for the ears. Many people think that they can get by with some hearing loss but don’t understand the impact living with it can have on their overall health. Wearing hearing technology fills in the blanks, reduces listening effort and improves quality of life.

New Techniques for Tinnitus

People who have tinnitus or ringing in the ears fall into two categories: those who have tinnitus and are not bothered by it and those who are debilitated by the ringing in their ears. Only twenty percent of people who have tinnitus find it debilitating. Researchers have been hard at work trying to figure out why tinnitus is only bothersome to most people and debilitating to others.

The answer lies within the nervous system and how the nervous system responds to the tinnitus. Many tinnitus researchers have been using imaging (fMRI) to study how the brain is responding to ringing in the ears. It has been surprising to see that the areas of the brain most active with tinnitus are not the areas that process sound but also the areas responsible for emotions such as fear.

A recently published study indicates that people who have debilitating tinnitus actually process emotions differently in the brain. Tinnitus treatment methods should follow suit.

This research is confirming that sound therapy alone is not enough to address the cases of debilitating tinnitus. In cases where tinnitus is just bothersome, sound therapy and counseling often does the trick. However, for people with debilitating tinnitus, the reaction of the nervous system and emotional distress must also be addressed. Mind-body medicine and mindfulness based tinnitus reduction have shown a lot of promise in this area.

Hearing Wellness Center is sponsoring two free educational events for “Better Hearing Month” which explores the topics of this article further. Contact Hearing Wellness Center to reserve your spot today! D

Dr. Downs practices at Hearing Wellness Center.