How Your Hearing Health Can Impact Cognitive Decline

I sat down with Andrew Campbell from Neuaudio to talk about hearing and brain health. 

Ashgrove, Chermside & Camberwell (VIC) 

Hey Team! 

As you know Just Knead It is all about being proactive with your health and wellbeing. This doesn’t just stop with your musculoskeletal health, but your body as a whole. We are constantly looking out for health practices that embody our values and focus on ensuring you live a full, happy and healthy life, long term. 


Neuaudio is a company that represents what we believe in. Andrew, an audiologist and the founder of Neuaudio focuses on proactive hearing health and cognitive decline. He spoke to me recently about the heart breaking effects of cognitive decline and how research is showing that improving your hearing is the number one way to prevent it.  


As a massage therapist I see the both sides of this terrible condition. I see family and friends affected by stress as they see their loved ones start to be impacted by cognitive decline. I hear about clients who start to withdraw from seeing family and friends because they are struggling with their hearing but don’t want anyone to know. Social isolation is extremely common amongst those with untreated hearing loss, this frequently leads to physical inactivity as people start to find it easier to stay home than to go out and interact. 
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I didn’t realise that if you get on top of your hearing loss early you can actually prevent some of the effects, if you are fitted with the right devices. However, there becomes a point where not even the best technology around can help adequately. 


I sat down with Andrew recently to talk to him about Neuaudio; His new book, Catching The Mind Robber and all things hearing related. We spoke about how 2 major independent studies have shown that small shifts in your hearing can significantly decrease your cognitive age by up to 14 years (AKA 53 year old to the cognitive age of a 67 year old. (That was a little scary!)  (Read more about the study) 
 
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1. What made you want to start Neuaudio? 
I had the privilege of working in the USA in 2016-2017 and had exposure to a wide range of hearing practices. The ones that seemed to be achieving the best results for their patients were drawing from the neurosciences with a strong emphasis on education to supplement and inform their practice. So I decided to start NeuAudio based on similar principals when I returned home around 18 months ago.

 
2. You’ve just finished writing an ebook! What is it about? 
It focusses on recent research into the impact of untreated hearing loss and the clear links to cognitive decline. It also outlines some of the reasons why most Australians don’t wear their hearing aids adequately and how this problem can be addressed. It is my intention to position the good work we do as Audiologists as the ‘smart person’s choice’ as opposed to the ‘old and had it person’s choice’. 

 
3. Can you tell us a little about what a hearing test involves and what you are looking for? 
Primarily we’re looking to assess the impact hearing loss is having on day to day conversation. The testing itself only takes around 15 minutes, firstly we’re looking to ascertain the type degree and nature of hearing loss mainly by presenting a range of beeps and tones. Then we look to measure speech clarity under a range of volume levels. 

 
4. How early should people start to consider getting their hearing tested and what are the early warning signs that you see with people? 
I’d recommend that anyone over the age of 50 have their hearing assessed, even it is just to establish a baseline. The most common signs are difficulty hearing in background noise, challenges with the TV at normal volume and difficulty hearing from another room.


5. You are running free hearing and brain health seminars in at the moment.
What would be the key take home point that you hope to get across to people who attend? I would say the most important point is that the most common form of hearing loss is a progressive, degenerative disorder with neurologic involvement. Just like other chronic conditions such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease; the best outcomes are achieved when we catch it early and treat it early. 


To obtain your free copy of Andrew’s ebook Catching The Mind Robber click below! www.abcbrainhealth.com/ebook

If you or someone you know would like to attend one of Andrew’s Hearing and Brain Health Seminars the next one is on 26th June at UQ Herston, click here for more information or to book in! www.abcbrainhealth.com/brisbane

To learn more about Andrew and his team follow the link to his page
 www.neuaudio.com.au


Andrew Campbell 
Neuaudio Chermside, Ashgrove & Camberwell (VIC)  
Ph No 1300 418-852