While age-related cognitive decline is inevitable, there are ways to slow it down. Correcting hearing or visual loss, for example, is essential for healthy aging.
What if memory loss was linked to hearing loss and vision ? Two large studies have shown that the adoption of hearing aids slows the rate of cognitive decline by 75%, and that visual correction slows it down by 50%. Results “Surprising” according to Asri Maharani, survey author and researcher in the division of neurosciences and experimental psychology at the University of Manchester (UK).
Stimulate the ears to stimulate the brain
To achieve these results, his team followed 2,000 elderly people in the United States, before and after using hearing aids. Every two years from 1996 to 2014, they had them perform a test battery. During the memory test, participants were asked to recall a list of ten words. They were to repeat them aloud immediately after reading and then after being distracted by other tasks. Results ? The rate of cognitive decline of these elderly people was slowed by 75% after the adoption of hearing aids
For Piers Dawes, experimental psychologist and other study author, age-related decline is inevitable “But the reduction in the rate of change is quite substantial. It’s a very intriguing conclusion ”. However, it does make sense for audiologist Dina Rollins, interviewed by the American site of the NPR : “Stimulating your ears stimulates the nerves that stimulate your brain”. With hearing aids, “We give your ears what they lack, and we give your brain what it needs to understand what you hear”, she adds.
A slowing down of the process
In parallel with this survey, the same researchers evaluated the results of an English longitudinal study on aging. Deterioration of eyesight is common in older people, and this is often due to cataracts. About 2,000 elderly people who had had their lens operated on were periodically assessed on their cognitive abilities. Results ? The rate of cognitive decline was slowed by 50% after the operation. As with the previous study, restoring good vision does not eliminate age-related decline, but significantly slows down the process.
The researchers thus reveal that, while lifestyle habits (diet, physical activity) are important in slowing cognitive decline, correcting hearing or visual loss is also essential for healthy aging.
- The first study is published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society and is available here.
- The second study is published in the journal PLOS One and is available here.
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