Tag: Hearing loss
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Prevent dementia: Take care of your eyes
If you’re like me, you’re wondering what it’s going to take to stave off dementia as you grow older. While it might not be possible, there are things you can do. But, Paula Span reports for the New York Times on research finding that people who take care of their health, including their eyes, are more likely to forestall or prevent dementia.
More people are being diagnosed with dementia. At the moment, there’s no drug to keep dementia at bay. Your genes play a big role in whether you will be diagnosed with dementia, and there’s little you can do about that. Some risk factors, however, are within your control, including high blood pressure, hearing loss and smoking.
Simple behavior changes–which are not so easy to undertake in practice–such as stopping smoking, wearing a hearing aid and taking medications to bring blood pressure down, are all important. In addition, it’s important to keep a healthy weight, stay physically active, not drink too much alcohol and be socially engaged.
Staving off dementia is also about keeping your neural system stimulated through sensory organs. People with healthy vision are less likely to suffer from dementia. So, get your eyes checked, wear glasses and get cataract surgery, if necessary. Without good hearing and vision, your neurons die. And, your brain function deteriorates.
A paper in JAMA Neurology finds that these types of behavior changes could have prevented more than 60 percent of dementia cases today.
Medicare does not cover most vision care, but there are ways to get free or low-cost treatment for your eyes. By doing so, almost everyone can avoid blindness or serious vision impairment. Medicare also does not cover hearing aids or most treatment for hearing loss. But, there are ways to get treatment for hearing loss as well.
Medicare does cover treatment for glaucoma and macular degeneration as well as cataract surgery. People tend to think that Medicare Advantage plans will cover hearing aids. In fact, typically, coverage is extremely limited, just a few hundred dollars off a total cost that is usually several thousand dollars. So, out-of-pocket costs remain very high and a barrier to getting hearing aids.
Here’s more from Just Care:
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Low-cost hearing aids should be available over the counter in 2022
Tens of millions of Americans, mostly older Americans, would benefit from hearing aids. If the Senate passes the Build Back Better Act, which the House has already passed, Medicare would cover hearing aids under Part B. People with severe hearing loss tend to need expensive hearing aids, but Julie Jargon reports for the Wall Street Journal on low-cost hearing aids for people with mild to moderate hearing loss, which should be available over the counter in 2022.
What’s happening? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is in the last phase of approving the sale of hearing aids without the need for a medical exam or a visit to the audiologist. These hearing aids for people with mild to moderate hearing loss should cost no more than a few hundred dollars. That’s far less than the cost of hearing aids fitted by audiologists, which can easily be a few thousand dollars.
How many people need hearing aids? Today, nearly 40 million Americans have hearing loss. But, only about 20 percent of people who need hearing aids for good hearing have hearing aids. They are too expensive, and there is a stigma to wearing them.
How important is it to address hearing loss? Hearing aids bring significant benefits, even for people with mild to moderate hearing loss. Without a hearing aid, it can be hard to engage in social activities, leaving people prone to social isolation. For your health and well-being, it’s important to be socially engaged.
Some experts believe that you need to be socially engaged in order to keep your mind sharp. One study of 600 adults over 12 years found that even people with mild hearing loss are twice as likely to develop dementia if they don’t use a hearing aid. People with moderate hearing loss are three times as likely to develop dementia if they don’t use a hearing aid. People with severe hearing loss quintuple their risk of getting dementia.
What are your options today? Right now, many people only have the option of spending $5,000 on hearing aids, which is not a viable option at all. Until you can buy over-the counter hearing aids, consider getting a hearing test if you are struggling to hear. You can take a test through a free phone app, like Mimi. The test might help you know whether you will benefit from an over-the-counter hearing aid or whether you need to see an audiologist.
How to choose an over-the-counter hearing aid? Several types should be available next year. Some will work in conjunction with your mobile phone, others will be simpler. Whichever you go for, make sure you can return it if it does not meet your needs.
Hearing assistance is already available. Some hearing buds and apps amplify sounds or cancel out background noise. Some apps provide captions on your TV. Check out this link for a list of different apps available for free.
And, if you’re not sure whether your hearing is as good as it could be, consider asking your friends whether they think your hearing would benefit from a hearing aid.
Here’s more from Just Care:
