Alzheimers, Dementia and Hearing Loss

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between Alzheimers and Dementia? I thought I knew but I was wrong. In preparing a presentation to the Hearing Loss Association of LA tomorrow, I learned that Alzheimers is a disease. It gradually destroys brain cells and causes widespread brain damage and shrinkage. It causes Dementia.

Dementia, on the other hand, is a cluster of symptoms. Many kinds of Dementia are reversible. If the Dementia is being caused by depression, a vitamin B12 deficiency, med interactions or side effects, malnutrition, infections, hormone imbalance or thryoid imbalance, solutions can be given to the individual and you can get rid of many of the symptoms. However, there are 170 kinds of irreversable Dementia.

There has been a lot of literature exploring the ties between dementia and hearing loss. One study found a higher prevelance of dementia in people with hearing loss who were not wearing hearing aids. It stands to reason. If the information going in is corrupt, the output from the brain will be incorrect as well.

So the message, I guess, is don’t wait until you really need hearing aids. Get them before it gets too bad so that you can preserve your memory and lessen the dementia symptoms.