There are plenty of things we tend to accept as part of getting older: turning the television up, struggling to follow conversations in restaurants, or asking people to repeat themselves because everyone seems to mumble these days.

Other signs are easier to overlook. You stop noticing the microwave beep or refrigerator alert. You miss phone notifications. While none of these seem significant on their own, they capture one of the biggest challenges with hearing loss: It can develop so gradually that we simply adapt.

But there is a difference between adapting to getting older and adapting your life around something you can address. And there are increasingly good reasons to pay attention to our hearing as we age.

During World Alzheimer’s Month this September, much of the conversation will focus on cognitive health and how we can support it. Increasingly, hearing deserves a place in that conversation, too.

The World Health Organization recently updated its dementia risk-reduction guidance to include hearing aids as an intervention that may be offered. That does not mean hearing loss causes Alzheimer’s disease or that hearing aids can prevent dementia, but it adds to the reasons we should consider hearing part of our overall health and well-being.

When listening becomes work

With normal hearing, your brain hears a sound, recognizes the words, and understands their meaning. With hearing loss, you may receive only part of what somebody says, leaving your brain to use context, facial expressions, and body language to fill in the gaps. You’re still following the conversation, but your brain is working harder.

Now put yourself in a restaurant with music and other conversations, or at a family gathering with the television on and several people talking at the same time. Following a conversation can become exhausting. Over time, it may seem easier simply not to participate.

It is this relationship between hearing and the brain that is also driving growing interest in the potential connections between hearing loss and cognitive health. That’s why the question isn’t only, “How well can I hear?” A more revealing question may be, “Is my hearing changing the way I live?”

When hearing loss starts making decisions for you

At HearUSA, we often talk about the difference better hearing can make in everyday life. Some of the most meaningful changes patients report after addressing their hearing loss have little to do with volume. They are about choice.

Someone starts joining the conversation at family dinner again. They return to restaurants they had avoided or feel able to attend a birthday party, graduation, or work event. Hearing is no longer taking them out of the equation. That matters because social connection is an important part of healthy aging, and hearing difficulties can make staying socially active more challenging.

One recent U.S. study, the Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) trial, involved 977 adults ages 70 to 84 with untreated hearing loss and examined whether a hearing intervention could reduce cognitive decline over three years. The hearing intervention did not significantly reduce cognitive decline across the study population as a whole, but among older adults at greater risk of cognitive decline, it was associated with a substantially slower rate of decline.

We still have much to learn about exactly how hearing and cognitive health interact. What we already know is that effective communication can help people remain engaged with family, friends, workplaces, and communities.

Why wait to hear better?

People sometimes ask whether mild hearing loss in their 50s or 60s is something they really need to address yet. My question is: Why wouldn’t you want to start now?

Your brain is adapting either way. With hearing loss, you become accustomed to compensating by concentrating harder, filling in missing information, and changing your behavior around difficult situations. Hearing technology involves adjustment, too, as your brain gets used to hearing sounds differently again. Why spend years getting better at coping with hearing loss when you could spend that time getting used to hearing better?

I’ve had patients tell me their hearing loss contributed to their decision to retire because they felt they couldn’t keep up with younger colleagues. If hearing is making work more difficult, it’s worth finding out whether something can be done about it.

That doesn’t mean everyone with mild hearing loss needs hearing aids. Hearing care is personal. But getting tested gives you information and allows you to discuss your hearing and options with a hearing care provider.

Hearing aids can keep you feeling younger

Perhaps the hearing-health myth I would most like to erase is that benefiting from hearing aids means you’re old. I would argue almost the opposite.

Most of us don’t hesitate to have our vision checked when road signs become blurry. Hearing is easier to rationalize: You can hear one-on-one, but not in a restaurant, so perhaps the restaurant is simply too loud. You can hear someone’s voice, just not every word, so perhaps they mumble.

Modern hearing technology is also very different from the outdated stereotype. Today’s hearing aids are smaller, more discreet, and can be personalized around individual hearing needs and lifestyles. But they aren’t magic, and good communication habits such as getting someone’s attention first and talking face to face still matter.

Taking care of your hearing can help you stay involved in the things that make you feel like yourself: conversations, relationships, work, hobbies, and everyday experiences. Ultimately, the goal isn’t simply to make things louder. It’s to help you participate more fully in life.

If you’ve noticed changes in your hearing, or simply want to know where you stand, you can schedule a hearing evaluation at HearUSA. Our team can help you understand your results and explore options that fit your needs and lifestyle.

So, get tested, keep an open mind, and talk honestly about what you’re experiencing. Taking care of your hearing isn’t about admitting you’re getting older. It’s about recognizing its potential connection to cognitive well-being and helping yourself stay fully involved in the life you’re already living.

Kylee Gabler is a hearing care professional at HearUSA in Lewes, Delaware. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from Salisbury University in 2019.

Her lifelong passion for improving people’s health led her to work with the Alzheimer’s Association, supporting seniors living with dementia and their caregivers, before she transitioned to hearing care in December 2021. She joined HearUSA for its commitment to employee development, patient care, and community well-being.