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Hearing loss and preventing cognitive decline

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IMG_0578I am 68 and have had mild to moderate hearing loss with tinnitus for decades. I have learned to adapt but recently read the studies linking hearing loss with cognitive decline. Obviously, I want to prevent that.

I am test driving Sennheiser All Day Clear now (almost 2 weeks.) I like the difference in my hearing but, as they are , I will never know if they are good enough for my goal of preventing cognitive decline. Also, they have a white noise hiss all the time that I don’t like (why add another constant noise to my tinnitus and if I turn the volume down to get rid of it then I assume I also lower their effectiveness.)

I’ve been thinking of prescription at Costco (I have no problem with the cost) but read on a couple of posts that a provider might not dispence if my loss is not to a certain level. I have posted my here. The lowest I go is about -60db in my left ear at 2kz and above. Is a prescription device appropriate for my hearing loss if my goal is not better hearing but avoiding cognitive decline, or do I just muddle through with ?

Edited

You will have no problem getting hearing aids at Costco. They will probably put you in open domes or tulip domes with slits. The hard part is determining which brand of hearing aid to try. Read up on to see if you might have a use for it.

As far as cognitive decline, it’s not just one thing. Your sleep pattern, diet, exercise, family history, social network, and so on will determine how fast and how far your cognitive will go.

If you haven’t considered it, I suggest learning to square dance. This activity checks a lot of boxes that may help slow down cognitive decline, including exercise, mental activity, and a social network.

Regarding hearing loss, hearing aids and cognitive decline. I think it’s kind of a chicken and egg issue. I’m pretty sure there’s evidence that people with hearing loss who wear hearing aids are less likely to suffer cognitive decline. However, it’s quite possible that people who choose to wear hearing aid just care more about being socially involved which also likely relates to the risk of suffering cognitive decline. There is no agreed upon level of “good enough” to prevent cognitive decline. I think aiming for a goal of being able to stay socially engaged is reasonable.

Pretty sure Costco would sell you hearing aids. I’m guessing any differences in your ability to hear would be very subtle and perhaps not even detectible. However there are other advantages to getting prescription hearing aids from Costco. 3 year warranty and they will provide you with all your disposables (filters and domes) and also replace receivers for at least the 3 year warranty and at least for me even longer. Just having somebody to go to when your not sure your hearing aid is working right is worth quite a bit.

Have you worn hearing aids before? If not be prepared for a new loud world. It takes time to acclimate so be patient.

That hearing loss is taking many sounds away from you. Nature is a biggie and consonants in speech. Take a look at the speech banana on the Internet to get an idea of what sounds you are missing. Just overlay your on the speech banana chart.

I agree with getting prescription hearing aids with that hearing loss. Costco is usually a great place to start.

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