An award-winning Cardiff Audiologist has sent out a plea to anyone struggling with hearing loss, after a new study has found that wearing hearing aids could help reduce the risk of dementia.
Sonja Jones, Clinical Audiologist and Owner of Cardiff Hearing was speaking after a study, which was published The Lancet, showed that people with hearing loss who used hearing aids were 42% less likely to develop dementia than those with hearing loss who did not use hearing aids.
Sonja is a passionate advocate for hearing health and said: “There are approximately 11 million people in the UK with hearing loss, which equates to over 60,000 people in Cardiff alone. Many of these people have never sought the help of an audiologist for their hearing.
“This study, along many others before it, is showing strong evidence that untreated hearing loss can lead to cognitive decline. My plea to anyone over 50 is to ensure you have a regular hearing check every couple of years, especially if you have started to notice you are missing parts of conversations or other sounds.”
The study looked at data from 437,704 people taking part in the UK Biobank study. The average age was 56, and the average follow-up time was 12 years.
The hypothesis, known as cognitive overload, asserts that the brains of adults with hearing loss have to work harder to understand the same information as people with average hearing, which may put such a profound strain on the brain that it cannot perform other functions as well.
Sonja, who fits the latest hearing aids from her clinics in Ely and Taffs Well continued, “Wearing hearing aids can help to reduce the risks of dementia by improving hearing and making it easier for people to communicate. It is clear to me that this study highlight’s the urgent need for the early introduction of hearing aids when someone starts to experience hearing loss.”
Cardiff Hearing – Hearing Care Day | Wednesday 3rd May 2023
To help encourage anyone struggling with their hearing to seek help, Sonja at Cardiff Hearing has organised a Hearing Care Day from her clinic in Ely. It takes place on Wednesday 3rd May with qualified audiologists providing comprehensive hearing assessments and offering attendees the chance to have a try with a pair of hearing aids of the day.
The event forms part of Deaf Awareness Week (1st-7th May 2023), a UK wide awareness week which takes place every year to highlight the impact of hearing loss on everyday life and increase visibility and inclusion for hearing impaired people.
Appointments are available between 9am-5pm and can be booked by calling 02920 676 625 or by visiting www.cardiffhearing.co.uk
