Healthy Hearing Means Healthier Aging
April 16, 2021

Healthy Hearing Means Healthier Aging

It is your brain that interprets sounds and assigns them meaning.


It is a fact of life that aging can bring changes to your physical, mental and emotional health. However, smart choices based on today’s knowledge and research can lessen the impacts of aging, helping you have a happy, healthy life during your golden years. One of those smart choices is to address hearing loss when you first notice you are struggling in your listening environments.


For years, hearing loss has been viewed as an inescapable consequence of aging, something you must accept rather than address. People also tend to think that hearing loss has little bearing on other aspects of health, but research has proven the opposite. That is great news because, while hearing loss can impact older adults in far-reaching ways, treating hearing loss—with one or a combination of options that technology now makes available—can mean a longer, fuller, happier life. Let’s explore how!


The important link between your ears and your brain
Your ears are made up of many intricate parts, which function as the apparatus that transfer sound to your brain. These parts are certainly important, but make no mistake, it is your brain that does the heavy lifting when it comes to your sense of hearing. Why? Because it is your brain that interprets sounds and assigns them meaning. For example, every driver has experienced a blaring ambulance siren approaching from behind. That siren is just a bunch of noise until your brain spurs you to action to pull over and allow the ambulance to pass. Understanding how your ears and brain work in harmony is an important concept in recognizing the impact of hearing loss so hold that thought, and let’s discuss the most common type of hearing loss.


Understanding the most common type of age-related hearing loss
While there are various types of hearing loss, sensorineural hearing loss is the most common that a person experiences as a byproduct of aging. This loss occurs when the sensitive sensory hair cells inside your cochlea—that organ in your inner ear that looks like a spiral-shaped seashell—that are critical for sound conversion are partially or permanently damaged. This damage can occur simply because of the aging process and/or as a condition passed down genetically from one family member to another. It also can be hastened by exposing your ears to loud noises over the course of a lifetime.


The effects of hearing loss 
So how can hearing loss affect you? While the information that follows may seem daunting, don’t despair! Read on to gain a deeper understanding of the links between hearing loss and aging and to learn how much good news there is today for avoiding the negative impacts of hearing loss.


Notably, many types of hearing loss, and particularly sensorineural hearing loss, tend to happen gradually over time, making it more difficult to detect. Most people with this type of hearing loss make daily adjustments they don’t even realize they are making. A prime example is when you are having a conversation: Talking to a single speaker in a quiet room may not seem difficult because the listener is combining the sound that is reaching the impaired ear(s) with the techniques of reading the person’s lips and interpreting hand gestures and other body language. However, in a noisy environment like a crowded restaurant or at a large family gathering, the listener has background noise and/or multiple talkers to try to listen to. Juggling all these sounds can make it very difficult to decipher speech from amongst the other noises.


A person may also experience what’s called listening fatigue because of the extreme cognitive load the brain is “lifting” as it works overtime trying to keep up in these challenging listening environments. As your brain puts in this overtime, it must “rob” resources that it would otherwise dedicate to thinking, memory and other processes that it accomplished effortlessly before hearing loss.


Also, as hearing loss worsens, a person may start to withdraw from gatherings with family and friends because of listening frustration. This can lead to social isolation, which can cause feelings of anxiety and depression.


Additionally, research now suggests that the areas of the brain that help you hear can even begin to atrophy or shrink when they are no longer stimulated by sound. This can have a cascading effect on other parts of the brain leading to further brain decline, and some studies show a consistent link between hearing loss and a greater risk of developing dementia.


Plus, the consequence of hearing loss can extend beyond dementia. Since the cochlea of the inner ear not only regulates hearing but also your sense of balance, a person with cochlear damage is at a higher risk for falling. Falls often lead to hospitalization and a temporary or permanent move to an assisted living or nursing home facility.


Now, cue the good news!!!


Goods news! Healthy hearing can lead to healthier aging
It stands to reason that if hearing loss can contribute and/or cause the negative impacts outlined in this article then addressing your hearing loss can slow or reverse these outcomes. Yes!

Hearing aid technology continues to advance every year. Smaller devices offer ever-improving sound quality. Plus, a hearing aid wearer can have complete Bluetooth connectivity as your hearing aids stream to your mobile phone, your television and through your car speakers. Nowadays, adjustments to volume and even various listening environments can be changed through the touch of a button on your aids and/or through an app on your mobile phone. In fact, one major hearing aid manufacturer has released technology recently that requires a simple touch of your finger to the side of your ear to activate the hearing aid’s functionality, and another manufacturer offers artificial intelligence technology that can detect a change in heart rhythm or if the wearer has fallen. 

 

Taking the next steps
If you or someone you know has hearing loss, it’s time to take control of your hearing health. Here are some action steps.


Visit an audiologist for a hearing diagnostic
As you begin your journey to healthy hearing and healthier aging, be sure to choose a reputable audiology practice where you will see a university-trained audiologist. Bear in mind that some hearing aid clinics employ hearing instrument specialists, rather than audiologists. Hearing instruments specialists do not have formalized university training in audiology. Also, hearing aid franchise stores sell proprietary technology that can only be serviced at their locations rather than by any hearing aid clinic. Additionally, the decision to purchase hearing aids at big box stores, over the internet or by phone can lead to frustrations as patient support and continuity of care are often lacking.


Get hearing aids
Hearing aids are medical devices, and an audiologist is the most qualified professional to fit them. Choose an audiology practice that offers you access to a variety of hearing aid manufacturers. Look for a practice that works with all the most reputable manufacturers—ReSound, Phonak, Lyric, Oticon, Widex, Starkey and Signia. Ideally, your audiologist will conduct your hearing diagnostic and ask you a variety of questions about your lifestyle and common listening environments in order to make recommendations for the hearing aid brand and technology level that will best address your unique hearing loss. Give yourself time to adjust to your hearing aids and be sure to visit your audiologist regularly for ongoing follow-up appointments so that you can continue to get the best results from your technology.


Get the benefits of your insurance coverage
Be sure to choose an audiology practice that works with a host of insurance companies, verifies your benefits for your hearing diagnostic and technology and files your claim with your insurance. Some hearing aid dispensers do not work with your insurance so you may not get benefits that are coming to you simply because the clinic does not file them.


Try assistive devices
Work with your audiologist to explore other assistive devices in addition to your hearing aids that may help. Closed captioning telephones and devices for activities like watching television, attending work meetings and listening at large group events like church services can take your listening to the next level. Hands-free devices for your car can help you stay connected and compliant with the hands-free laws.


The future has never been brighter for those with hearing loss, and understanding the far-reaching effects that untreated hearing loss can have on your future is just another reason to act now. Get your hearing tested today and take control of your health now and as you age.

Untreated hearing loss is changing your brain

By Jan Hollingsworth • May 16, 2024
Research reveals that hearing loss actually rewires your neural pathways Your Amazing Brain Your brain is an amazing organ! This wrinkly, reddish-pink mass weighs about the same as your two-slice toaster, tipping the scales at about three pounds. Acting as a master control center, your brain enables every thought, breath, eye blink, heartbeat, movement—everything—that happens in your body. Rivaling the world’s most powerful supercomputer, your brain can download, process, and react in milliseconds to the tidal wave of information coming from your eyes, skin, nose, tongue, and ears. Neuroplasticity and Your Sense of Hearing Researchers have discovered that the human nervous system—made up of the brain, spinal cord, and a complex network of nerves—has incredible capacity to modify itself, both in function and physical structure. This is called neural plasticity . Dr. Megan Johnson, audiologist and owner of Johnson Audiology explains, “Neural plasticity is going gangbusters in a child’s brain as the child develops and matures into adulthood. Based on years of brain research, we also know that the adult brain is far from being fixed. It, too, changes and adapts when you learn new information or skills or as a response to stress, hormonal fluctuations, drug interactions, injury, and much more.” Dr. Johnson also relates that “your brain displays neuroplasticity when you experience hearing loss.” By measuring brain waves using an electroencephalograph, or EEG, scientists have studied how the brain of a person with hearing loss functions compared to a person with normal hearing. The results are both fascinating and sobering as studies reveal that, in those with hearing loss, the portion of the brain devoted to hearing becomes reorganized. This can be true even with early-stage, mild hearing loss, and the process happens quickly, often in months rather than years. The Hearing Center of Your Brain and Beyond What is actually happening when this takes place? Your brain has a right and a left hemisphere and six major lobes. Think of your frontal lobe as your brain’s boss, where executive functions like decision making, emotion and impulse control, and planning occur. Your temporal lobe, which contains the auditory cortex, is doing the heavy lifting when it comes to interpreting sounds and assigning those sounds meaning. The temporal lobe processes speech and language, and it is where initial learning of new information takes place, which is the first step for logging that information into memory. Dr. Johnson goes on to relate, “When the delicate infrastructure of your ear has become damaged through noise exposure, infection, etc. leading to hearing loss, your auditory cortex cries out to your frontal lobe, saying ‘Help! Help! I’m not receiving any sound to process, so I feel lost.’ The frontal lobe ‘boss’ jumps to attention, and your occipital lobe, responsible for processing vision and touch, takes over the areas in which hearing is normally processed. In other words, your other senses seek to compensate for the deficit due to the loss of your sense of hearing.” Amazing, right? So, where’s the rub? Picture a car assembly line; each worker has an assigned task. One day, the worker who installs the windshields is absent, and the worker who attaches the rearview mirrors is assigned double duty, and a duty that was not part of job training. It is easy to see how the worker left juggling both jobs is compromised, and a car might slip through minus a rear view mirror. Similarly, the areas of your brain that are being taxed to make up for a lack of hearing are overloaded and less able to do their assigned responsibilities. “This explains why so many of my patients with hearing loss relate feeling exhausted and frustrated after a big family gathering—where multiple talkers and sounds must be interpreted—rather than happy and invigorated by the experience. We call this listening fatigue ,” states Dr. Johnson. Additionally, when left untreated long enough, researchers point to the brain’s reorganization due to hearing loss as a significant correlation with dementia. Hearing Technology and Your Brain “But here's the great news!” Dr. Johnson says. When a person is fit with hearing aids or a cochlear implant and sound is restored, the brain has the ability to adjust back—partially or completely—to proper function. How swiftly that happens often depends on how long the hearing loss went untreated and is why she encourages patients to treat hearing loss sooner rather than later. “Here is what I tell patients who are downplaying the importance of hearing: If you won’t treat your hearing loss for the sake of your ears, do it for your brain!”

Move from the Gunbarrel Road office to a new and larger office will allow Johnson Audiology to help even more people in the Chattanooga region

By Jan Hollingsworth • January 9, 2024
Johnson Audiology is pleased to announce that the practice will be moving one of its Chattanooga area offices from its current location on Gunbarrel Road to a new location at 6830 Lee Highway. The move will take place January 15. “We are extremely excited to be re-locating to a much larger space later this month,” Dr. Megan Johnson, founder and owner of the award-winning practice, says. “About a year ago, we realized that we needed more room to meet the needs of our growing patient base so we could help even more people with hearing loss. We sought a place that would allow us to stay in the East Brainerd/Hamilton Place area so that the office would still be conveniently located for patients. Our Hixson office will remain at 5617 Highway 153, Suite 203 and is also being upgraded with a second sound booth and beautiful new decor. These two strategically located offices mean that we can continue to serve patients who live east and west of the Tennessee River.” Dr. Johnson says that when she identified the building on Lee Highway, she knew it was an ideal site for this next growth leap. “Our company culture is anchored on the premise of always offering an exceptional patient experience,” she says. “Thanks to our wonderful family of Johnson Audiology patients, we have outgrown our current office and have found the perfect location for offering the best care to even more of our Chattanooga neighbors.” The new location offers many positive features that will benefit patients: The office is conveniently located off Lee Highway in the area between Shallowford Road and Hickory Valley Road, directly behind Dr. Keith B. Dressler’s orthodontic practice. It is a stand-alone office that is not shared with any other businesses. The building is more than 4,000 square feet, which is double the space of the current office on Gunbarrel Road. The added square footage will accommodate a spacious patient welcome and reception area, three sound booths for hearing testing, and a private area for patient check-out. The building has exam rooms for four full time audiologists and an audiology assistant, a large front desk area, and a sizeable lab for hearing aid maintenance and repair. The office has ample space for the practice’s growing Cochlear Implant (CI) Program with a dedicated sound booth and exam area just for CI patients. The building design allows for easy circular patient flow throughout the office. The building has a dedicated, 20-space parking lot just for Johnson Audiology patients and additional parking for Johnson Audiology staff. Dr. Johnson mentions that the building was a non-medical office previously, so updates were needed to bring it up to par for a bustling hearing health care clinic. It currently is being remodeled, and the parking lot resurfaced. “We have plans to transition to the new building by January 15 with some final touches to the office’s aesthetics continuing through the spring,” she says.  Dr. Johnson wishes to assure folks that measures are in place to alleviate disruption to the service patients receive during this time and thanks patients in advance for their continued support and understanding during the transition. “The new office is going to be incredible!” she says. Initial correspondence has been delivered to patients about the move. Dr. Johnson says, “Patients who have appointments scheduled in early January or those who need walk-in service for hearing aid maintenance and supplies from now until January 15 should continue visiting the Gunbarrel Road location.” Dr. Johnson says, “In February, we will invite our friends and neighbors in the Chattanooga community to an open house celebration, where we will do an official reveal of the new space!” Johnson Audiology has been faithfully serving the citizens of Chattanooga since the practice opened its doors on October 1, 2009. “As we prepare to celebrate our 15th anniversary this year, the new office location on Lee Highway and the upgrades to the Hixson office are evidence of our commitment to patients.” Dr. Johnson goes on to say, “Chattanoogans have named Johnson Audiology Best of the Best in the category of Favorite Audiologist and Hearing Aid Clinic for 11 years straight. And they consistently name Johnson Audiology in the top three in the category of Best Customer Service among all Chattanooga businesses. We seek to live up to those accolades daily!” Dr. Johnson concludes, “One of our patients, Mr. Van Tenpenny, recently had this to say about us: ‘My visit to Johnson Audiology has been life changing! After decades of hearing loss, I am able to hear normal conversations in any environment.’ It is our highest ideal to be here for Mr. Tenpenny and the thousands of other patients like him who prioritize their hearing for the best quality of life.” Do you want to get on the road to healthy hearing? Johnson Audiology is currently accepting new patients at all locations. Call today to schedule an appointment or book online at www.johnsonaudiology.com/schedule.
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