Dementia: The sign to look out for during a conversation – Alzheimer’s

According to Dr Ronald Petersen, difficulty following or hearing conversation could be an early sign of dementia.

In a statement, Dr Petersen said age-related hearing loss could be linked to an increased risk of cognitive decline.

Dr Petersen added: “Some studies have shown that if people have hearing loss over many years, certain parts of the brain – in particular the temporal lobe involved in hearing, but also involved in language and memory – may actually be smaller.”

As well as increasing the risk of dementia, hearing loss can also increase the risk of another risk factor. REPLACE WITH
Hearing loss can increase the risk of dementia by encouraging social isolation and isolation.

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Alongside age, social isolation and loneliness can increase the risk of dementia.

If someone loses their hearing they can begin to feel cut off or left out of friendship groups and social interactions.

The way to counter this part of ageing, says Dr Petersen, is simple: “You could get a hearing devise – a hearing aid or cochlear implant.

“Hearing loss need not be a normal event in ageing.”

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In a statement in response to the study, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK Dr Rosa Sancho said: “This study found that having heart diseases or stroke may intensify the effect of liver disease on a person’s risk of dementia.

“This suggests that treatments targeting both non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and cardiovascular diseases may help reduce the risk of dementia.

“Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is often underdiagnosed because people do not always display symptoms so this study could be underestimating the strength of the link to dementia.

“This finding highlights the fact that our brains don’t operate in isolation from the rest of our body and improving our physical health can help to reduce our risk of dementia and support a healthy brain.”