When you set out to do a project… most of us attempt to do the task correctly.  We strive to make it right.  We have an appreciation of how things are supposed to be done and the satisfaction that comes from that finely finished task.  Well, the same is true when utilizing a hearing health care professional and deciding on technology levels to help you with your communication needs. 

The numbers are in.  The onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s is directly related to hearing loss.  If you have hearing loss and a genetic link (someone in your family has had dementia) then you should not put off correcting your hearing loss.   Wearing hearing instruments can slow down the progression of “cognitive decline’ by as much as 70 percent.  That is huge.

How much hearing loss is an issue?  How much hearing loss may be a contributor to dementia?  It doesn’t take much.  Even a mild hearing loss that is not corrected properly can be an instigator.   The key term here is “corrected properly.”   For example:  if you have a high frequency hearing loss where you hear normally through 2000 Hz and then they start to dip all the way out to 9400 Hz.; yet you only get hearing instruments that amplify out to 4,000 Hz then that is not an appropriate or correct fitting.

In essence you did not correct the frequencies from 4,000 Hz to 9400 Hz so really... over 1/2 of your speech understanding frequencies that you need to send the signal to the brain to keep it sharp are not touched.  Thus, you may have hearing instruments on...but only doing about 1/2 of what they should be doing.  You may think you are helping yourself and providing your brain with the best solutions but in essence you are not.

You should ask your Hearing Health Care Provider to explain your hearing exam and to also explain what levels of technologies best correct the “areas” in which you have a hearing loss.   Hearing instruments have bands and channels.  This has to do with the flexibility of the circuit but also is the bandwidth of the instruments.  The more bands/channels...the broader the bandwidth... much like a graphic equalizer on a stereo.   The broader the bandwidth... the more stimulus to the brain.  The higher frequencies the better the discrimination of speech.  The lower frequency control the better background noise control. 

Protect your brain.  Enjoy life to the fullest. Get yourself a complete hearing evaluation and establish a baseline for your hearing health today.

To Hear Better Is To Live Better!