Middle-Aged Hearing Loss Doubles Risk of Dementia (reuters.com) 61
"Hearing loss in middle age is associated with higher odds of cognitive decline and dementia in later years," reports Reuters, citing a large study in Taiwan.
Researchers tracked more than 16,000 men and women and found that a new diagnosis of hearing loss between ages 45 and 65 more than doubled the odds of a dementia diagnosis in the next dozen years. Even mild levels of hearing loss could be a risk factor, so hearing protection, screening and hearing aids may be important means of reducing cognitive risk as well, the study team writes in JAMA Network Open.
"Hearing loss is a potential reversible risk factor for dementia, including Alzheimer's disease," said senior study author Charles Tzu-Chi Lee of National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei.
Past research suggests that about two thirds of the risk for dementia is hereditary or genetic, which means about one third of the risk is from things that are modifiable, Lee noted. Among modifiable risk factors, hearing loss accounts for about 9% of dementia risk, a greater proportion than factors like hypertension, obesity, depression, diabetes and smoking. "The early identification of hearing loss ... and successful hearing rehabilitation can mitigate the negative effects of hearing loss," Lee told Reuters Health by email.
"Hearing loss is a potential reversible risk factor for dementia, including Alzheimer's disease," said senior study author Charles Tzu-Chi Lee of National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei.
Past research suggests that about two thirds of the risk for dementia is hereditary or genetic, which means about one third of the risk is from things that are modifiable, Lee noted. Among modifiable risk factors, hearing loss accounts for about 9% of dementia risk, a greater proportion than factors like hypertension, obesity, depression, diabetes and smoking. "The early identification of hearing loss ... and successful hearing rehabilitation can mitigate the negative effects of hearing loss," Lee told Reuters Health by email.
Causal or coincidental? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Causal or coincidental? (Score:5, Insightful)
Can also be causal the other way round (people that get dementia later were not careful with their hearing) or can both be causal result of a third factor.
Statistics are tricky in a lot of ways. The worst is the interpretation at the end and deriving any sort of advice that is not bogus or even harmful.
Re: (Score:1)
Middle age hearing loss could be the result of going to too many rock concerts. While at those rock concerts, what was the level of drug use? Did such drug use contribute to dementia?
You're implying that the drugs may be to blame, but perhaps it's their choice in music that predicts -- or causes -- the dementia... Just look at Kid Rock, he hears -- and sings -- his music all the time and now he's ranting about Taylor Swift. :-)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: Causal or coincidental? (Score:2)
This just in.......Kid Rock CAUSES DEMENTIA!!! News at 11
Re: (Score:3)
Actually, it probably correlates with a number of other factors for dementia, for example hypertension, shingles, meningitis, diabetes, stroke, obesity and smoking.
Re: (Score:2)
Not only that but people like me that ride motorcycles and have wind damage to ears. Or in the 90's I used to be in the SPL race and had sound systems that would break windows. Or people like me that suffer from trichotillomania and have hearing loss from sticking/twirling hairs in the ear and pounding the eardrum.
I'm nearly 50 so in the age group.
WHAT? (Score:1)
Speak up!
Re: (Score:2)
Correlation (Score:4, Insightful)
Is not causation. Correlation is not causation.
So people with hearing loss go on to develop dementia. That does not mean that the hearing loss is causing dementia!
Re: (Score:2)
From the Article:
"The study was not designed to determine how hearing loss might contribute to dementia, or if the two conditions share the same cause."
But the blurb very strongly implies that preventing hearing loss can help prevent dementia.
Re: (Score:2)
But the blurb very strongly implies that preventing hearing loss can help prevent dementia.
That is the problem with the vast majority of people: They do not understand statistics or risk management at all. And then they come to the most demented conclusion and do the most stupid things as a result.
Re: (Score:2)
> That is the problem with the vast majority of people: They do not understand statistics or risk management at all. And then they come to the most demented conclusion and do the most stupid things as a result.
They probably had hearing loss when they were younger. ;-)
Re: (Score:2)
"Causation" might also go either way. Deafness can contribute to confusion, and to social isolation. Modest confusion and memory loss could appear as a loss of speech comprehension in hearing tests. Many victims of strokes can attest to difficulty remaining active and social after modest damage to their speech, senses, or mobility.
Re: (Score:2)
Indeed. The only thing they have is that hearing loss may be an early symptom of dementia and even that is tentative at best.
Re: (Score:2)
It seems quite obvious that mental decline would sometimes cause a disruption in processing sensory data.
Any middle-aged sensory decline will be correlated with mental decline, because obviously some of it is causal. In some percent of patients experiencing mental decline, the early symptoms will include sensory disruption. This is obviously true.
This is the rare case where a causal relationship is obvious, and the question is more about how much of the correlation is causal.
People chanting "correlation is
Re: (Score:2)
> the early symptoms will include sensory disruption. This is obviously true.
Why do you think this? It seems possible, but not necessarily true if the dementia does not directly involve sensory nerves, which do hae some differences from cerebral nerves.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Is not causation. Correlation is not causation.
You were so quick to try and get first post that you didn't even realise the only one who has so far proposed this causal relationship was you.
Re: (Score:3)
I didn't even know I was getting firs post.
But besides that, you are still wrong because, from the blurb (don't even have to read the fine article):
'Among modifiable risk factors, hearing loss accounts for about 9% of dementia risk, a greater proportion than factors like hypertension, obesity, depression, diabetes and smoking. "The early identification of hearing loss ... and successful hearing rehabilitation can mitigate the negative effects of hearing loss," Lee told Reuters Health by email.'
Very clearly
Re: (Score:2)
"Hearing loss is a potential reversible risk factor for dementia, including Alzheimer's disease," said senior study author Charles Tzu-Chi Lee of National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei.
Logically, why even mention at that level how hearing loss is reversible, unless the link between hearing loss and later dementia is causal?
Whether the implication was intention or not, that's the inference that many, many people will take from that quote.
Re: (Score:2)
Because it is a risk factor. And because it is potentially reversible.
We do not need to establish causation before looking for, and identifying, such factors. Indeed it is hard to see how causation could be established before identifying them.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
>"Agreed, but the idea here is that protecting your hearing is pretty easy to do. "
Except that for a lot of people, hearing loss is genetic and nothing they do will change that. Of course, I strongly support protecting your hearing... always avoid loud music (even short periods) and wear proper hearing protection while using heavy equipment, shooting, motorcycle riding, yard work with power tools, etc.
I actually carry "musician's" earplugs with me everywhere, never know when they come in handy (movies,
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
> To not try to protect your hearing is like saying you don't want to wear a seat belt because you'd rather be "thrown clear" of a car crash.
Not quite. Both decisions can be a matter of knowledgeably considered choices, depending on sensory preferences, etc. Admittedly, often time the choice is fueled by ignorance, but to assume so seems uncharitable.
The reason seat belts are mandatory and hearing loss protection is not is not a matter of the amount of ignorance, but by their secondary effects.
Choosin
Re: (Score:2)
The reason seat belts are mandatory and hearing loss protection is not is not a matter of the amount of ignorance, but by their secondary effects..
Hearing protection is actually mandatory [osha.gov] for working environments. You can drive your own car on your own property without a seatbelt; you can do your own woodworking without hearing protection, too - but in society, if it's loud, you legally have to provide hearing protection for your workers. And yes, that includes nightclubs and concert venues [osha.gov]. If the employees choose not to wear it - well, you can't force people to wear seatbelts, either...
Re: (Score:2)
I live at a place with a lumber mill, planer etc and it's nasty. I have lots of hearing protection around because I do a lot of loud work on stuff, so when it's especially bad I can put on some protection easily enough, but some of the people around here clearly have very poor hearing. I can hear all kinds of stuff they can't.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm with Lynwood on this.
Re:Correlation (Score:5, Interesting)
Is not causation. Correlation is not causation.
So people with hearing loss go on to develop dementia. That does not mean that the hearing loss is causing dementia!
No hearing loss does not by itself cause dementia but hearing loss can cause changes in the severity of the onset of advanced dementia. I cook in a seniors facility and have for many years dealt with people with differing levels of dementia. Dementia can be both a physical and psychological affliction and hearing is one of the key symptoms. Certainly those who also have hearing loss also progress more rapidly down the scale of mental acuity and interactive response. The human mind will hear what it wants to hear, that is natural. Paranoia is much more common and severe in those with hearing loss and early onset dementia.
One really good example is a wonderful woman that is currently in the facility where I work. She is not stable enough mentally to be able to do things on her own and can wander off if not watched all the time. Her hearing is still very good and she sings constantly and smiles and is a joy to have around. On the other side of the scale there are those who cannot understand what you say at all because of hearing loss, their countenance with the same level of dementia is much different and they tend to react much differently when redirected to safety when they wander. They also do not live long on average and tend to progress more rapidly down the scale of physical dementia much more quickly that people who still have adequate hearing.
So from evidence and observation it is obvious that hearing loss effects dementia and the loss of the use of centers of the brain that process sound effects the speed at which clinical dementia progresses.
Re: (Score:2)
>"hearing loss does not by itself cause dementia but hearing loss can cause changes in the severity of the onset of advanced dementia."
Which makes sense. I think what is happening is that uncorrected hearing loss starts to cause the person to "tune out" their surroundings. This is a loss of engagement and brain stimulation. Many studies have shown that keeping people's brains stimulated with things like games, conversation, and other inputs keeps away dimension and loss of function.
Re: (Score:2)
Conversely, causation doesn't mean that dementia _isn't_ caused by hearing loss. It's not proof either way, but in a universe of infinite possibilities, having somewhere interesting to look for more answers is a first step. As one scientist put it (something like), they don't start turning rocks over in a gravel pit to find a cure for cancer.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah. I agree. My complaint is the seemingly deliberate mis-characterization of prospective studies. We see this over and over. If the author of the study wants to say that hearing aids can reduce the severity of dementia, then they need to do a controlled study where a group of people with hearing loss are randomized and some are given hearing aids and some are not, and then they need to track the speed and/or severity of dementia onset in both groups to see if it is different.
Re: (Score:2)
Yes, agreed.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Come again? (Score:2)
I'd say it predicts that they were too near the speakers in the disco in their youth and in the first row at concerts.
Most important sentence in the article (Score:3)
"The study was not designed to determine how hearing loss might contribute to dementia, or if the two conditions share the same cause."
In other words, the conclusions being highlighted here - how preventing hearing loss may prevent dementia - may very well have no basis in fact.
Re: Most important sentence in the article (Score:1)
Re: Most important sentence in the article (Score:1)
Re: (Score:3)
Unfortunately such experiments will take decades to complete, and we won't know for sure until then. But if more institutes validate this link in other populations that have different heading loss risk factors, the days gets stronger, and thus could be a recommendation for those with generic risk -- keep your heading intact, it may help.
There are multiple equally plausible results which may come from further study - here are a few:
- The physiological trigger for certain types of dementia also can cause hearing loss.
- Certain types of dementia directly cause hearing loss.
- Hearing loss itself can trigger certain kinds of dementia.
- The trigger for certain types of hearing loss can cause dementia.
- Further study will fail to find any correlation between hearing loss and dementia.
Given both dementia and (at least some types of) hearing loss a
Re: (Score:2)
Yes, agreed. Look after our hearing. But no reason to think that looking after hearing will avert dementia. Or that treatment, if there ever is any, for dementia will improve hearing.
Smell is similar. Loss of smell is a leading indicator of dementia, but there's no reason to believe that working on improving sense of smell will postpone dementia.
It does seem very likely that improving hearing, eg by a hearing aid, will improve quality of life for those with dementia. So its almost certainly worth doin
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Only because they're inverted.
Just guessing from basic physiology would implicate the opposite causal relationship; that preventing dementia might prevent hearing loss.
There is no reason to presume that treating the presumed symptom, hearing loss, would prevent the underlying cause, even if the symptom goes away.
Usually, correlations are more tenuous, or the variables don't have a clear known relationship. But you don't think with your ear. You do have to think, subconsciously, to hear. In this case the sim
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
You should publish your study.
Wear a hat, carry a gun...universal precautions (Score:2)
Nice study...so as people age they lose their hearing...as they age some get dementia. Some even sit around in their bathrobes and yell a lot. Not sure if that is connected, causal, or correlated. It's old news that old people lose their hearing and it's old news that old people can get dementia. I wonder who puts good money out for these 'studies'.
As far as hearing loss
It's just simple precautions.
I've been to very few 'rock concerts' but I have spent a lot of time at the shooting range and always try to p
Re: (Score:2)
As far as hearing loss
It's just simple precautions.
Or it's genetics. My grandfather had hearing loss, as did my father. I've noticed the same signs in myself since I was thirty or so, even though I've never abused my ears with loud music, machinery, gunfire, etc.
Re: (Score:2)
Some even sit around in their bathrobes and yell a lot.
I know that's what I'm planning to do when I retire.
False Positive Diagnosis (Score:2)
Let's say you have a bit of dementia already. Not a lot, just a bit.
So you go to the doctor's office and he asks to raise your hand when you hear the high pitched noise.
But you forgot he asked you to raise your hand. So you just sit there, wondering what the hell is going on.
Reminds me of another survey ... (Score:2)
... in NYC asking if people thought the city was too loud.
40% said yes and the other 60 percent didn't hear the question.
Re: (Score:2)
in 1965 The Clancy Brothers surveyed an Irish audience to find out if they could hear the microphone. Some shouted "yes," others shouted "no."
Then Tom Clancy asked, "The ones who said no, how did you know what I was saying?"
Re: (Score:2)
in 1965 The Clancy Brothers surveyed an Irish audience to find out if they could hear the microphone. Some shouted "yes," others shouted "no."
Then Tom Clancy asked, "The ones who said no, how did you know what I was saying?"
They were correct. The microphone wasn't speaking. He was.
I'm hearing impaired ... (Score:5, Interesting)
... and even with hearing aids my comprehension rate is 68%. That means I can hear conversation but I misunderstand the words.
I'm 73 now, but going back to when I was middle age, before hearing aids could help, I often came across as demented.
I joked that I could read lips if people wrote big enough. Anyway, I often sat with my eyes glazed over as people talked around me because I could not hear. The optics were not in my favour.
When a couple or group had their backs turned away from me, I would perceive that there was a break in the convo and I could get a word in. I got chastised for rudely interrupting.
My boss asked me when I was going to get hearing aids and I jokingly said, "When you have $1,700 worth of shit to say."
I did spend the money in 1995 when I was (let's see, carry the 1 ...) 50, because I was in a conference with out of town execs and all eyes turned to me.
I'm like blank.
My manager told the CEO-looking suit that, "He didn't hear the question."
Not a great career move, eh?
As an IT guy I could perform miracles of a semi-religious nature and as an electronics technician, I was so good that I could synchronize random noise and stuff.
Anyway, it wasn't dementia.
Re: (Score:2)
... and even with hearing aids my comprehension rate is 68%. That means I can hear conversation but I misunderstand the words.
I'm 73 now, but going back to when I was middle age, before hearing aids could help, I often came across as demented.
I joked that I could read lips if people wrote big enough. Anyway, I often sat with my eyes glazed over as people talked around me because I could not hear. The optics were not in my favour.
When a couple or group had their backs turned away from me, I would perceive that there was a break in the convo and I could get a word in. I got chastised for rudely interrupting.
My boss asked me when I was going to get hearing aids and I jokingly said, "When you have $1,700 worth of shit to say."
I did spend the money in 1995 when I was (let's see, carry the 1 ...) 50, because I was in a conference with out of town execs and all eyes turned to me.
I'm like blank.
My manager told the CEO-looking suit that, "He didn't hear the question."
Not a great career move, eh?
As an IT guy I could perform miracles of a semi-religious nature and as an electronics technician, I was so good that I could synchronize random noise and stuff.
Anyway, it wasn't dementia.
What would be more interesting to study is if the portions of the brain used to process sounds in those who have hearing loss are then used for other purposes. Just about every really smart person I know can voluntarily switch off their hearing when concentrating of a complex task. It stands to reason that an inquisitive mind must be able to re purpose that portion of the brain to block out distraction while concentrating on a difficult task. Certainly Beethoven did, even though he drove just about everyone
Re: (Score:2)
Interesting thought. I do excel at lip-reading. I'm often surprised that other people can't do that.
I'm very grateful for CC on just about all platforms.
this happened to my grandmother (Score:1)
She lost her hearing in her early 40s due to a medication reaction(this was in the 1950s). With the hearing loss, she slowly became more socially isolated. Of course she had her family around as always, but beyond family she pretty much withdrew from the world to a great extent. To a great extent she was very ashamed of her hearing loss. As she got older, she slowly started losing grip on reality and by the time she was in her late 70s, it was pretty obvious she was losing touch with reality and the wor
Re: (Score:2)
Might be that social isolation causes you to lose grip with reality. Certainly Slashdot is proof if anything.
No mention of Tinnitus (Score:2)
I wonder if this is also related