Top ten habits for a healthy brain

Live Well- Age Wisely

Laura Thomas- Director of Aging Well at Prairie Five Community Action Council

If you’ve checked out the “Top Ten Habits for a Healthy Brain” info sheet, you may have wondered how those 10 habits were prioritized by the Alzheimer’s Association. (This sheet and related information can be found at alz.org/help-support/brain_health or give a call to 320-226-8861 and I’d be happy to mail one out.) 
The evidence around brain health risk factors is constantly evolving. Because of that, the Association continuously monitors the evidence and draws conclusions based on published studies and reports. Right now, these are the 10 areas that have the strongest levels of evidence, however, just because a risk factor isn’t listed, doesn’t mean it isn’t important.
“Untreated hearing loss” is an example of a risk factor for memory loss that didn’t make the top ten list but is still too important to ignore. Judy Leach is the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Specialist from the Minnesota State Services for the Deaf, Deaf Blind, and Hard of Hearing in our area. 
I was fortunate to hear her speak about the value and need to treat hearing loss and wanted to share a couple things she said that I’d never heard before and found very interesting.
She shared how hearing loss causes cognitive overload for the brain, which is very harmful. First, she explained the difference between “information overload” and “cognitive overload.” Information overload is short term and not harmful. If you attend a weeklong conference with several sessions each day, you may leave the event feeling like the brain is overloaded with new knowledge! Being given a large amount of information in a short period of time can feel overwhelming but it doesn’t harm cognition. 
Untreated hearing loss means the brain no longer has full access to environmental information and cognitive overload happens when the brain is constantly trying to put together pieces to figure out what is being said and what others are hearing. Over time, cognitive overload can change the brain organically. It keeps the brain so busy that it is no longer able to focus on other functions like balance. (Even mild hearing loss can triple a person’s risk of falling and that risk continue to climb as hearing loss worsens.)
Untreated hearing loss is correlated with isolation and withdrawing socially which causes the brain to lose valuable engagement opportunities as well. This isolation doesn’t just contribute to depression and a decrease in emotional health but also physically alters the brain. 
Over 50% of the population aged 70 and up has hearing loss and just because it’s invisible, doesn’t mean it’s not there! As Judy explained, most people don’t think twice about wearing glasses or taking prescriptions to address how the body may have changed during aging, and addressing hearing loss is just as important. 
If you are curious to learn more about what the State Services for the Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing have to offer, Judy Leach would love to hear from you at 952-256-4875. “What are you missing or missing out on that you’d like to have addressed?” is a great question to be prepared to answer when you call. They don’t provide free hearing aids but offer a number of technologies that can help immensely. Treating hearing loss now is a gift you give to your brain, your overall health, safety and wellbeing, and your loved ones!