By Dr. Noël Crosby, Au.D.
Hearing loss may also be a risk factor for another huge public health problem: falls and their resulting injuries that generate billions in health care costs in the United States each year. To determine whether hearing loss and falling are connected, Frank Lin M.D., Ph.d. at Johns Hopkins, and his colleague Luigi Ferrucci, M.D., Ph.D., of the National Institute on Aging, used data from the 2001 to 2004 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. This research program has periodically gathered health data from thousands of Americans since 1971. During those years, over 2000 participants ages 40 to 69 had their hearing tested and answered questions about whether they had fallen over the past year. Researchers also collected demographic information, including age, sex and race, and tested and measured participants’ vestibular function, a measure of how well they kept their balance. Their findings are published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study found that people with a 25-
decibel hearing loss (classified as mild) were nearly three times more likely to have a history of falling than those with no hearing loss. Every additional 10 decibels of hearing loss meant an increased 1.4-fold risk of falling. People with impaired hearing may not have good awareness of their overall environment, which makes them more likely to trip and fall, said study author Dr. Frank Lin.
It might also be that with hearing loss, the brain becomes overwhelmed by the demands on its limited resources, Lin suggested. Also,”gait and balance are things most people take for granted, but they are actually very cognitively demanding,” Lin says. “If hearing loss imposes a cognitive load, there may be fewer cognitive resources to help with maintaining balance and gait.”
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PROFESSIONAL BIO
Dr. Noël Crosby, Au.D., owner and audiologist at Advanced Hearing Solutions in Englewood, FL is a licensed professional whose 26 year career has been devoted to helping people of all ages hear and understand more clearly. Dr. Crosby received her BS and MS degrees from FSU and her Doctorate in Audiology from UF. Her credibility as an authority grew during her tenure as the Director of Audiology at the Silverstein Institute in Sarasota, FL from 1991-1998. Today, in addition to managing a successful audiology practice, Dr. Crosby is involved in creating hearing loss awareness through her jewelry and accessory company AuDBling.com. She has served and is serving on various professional boards and committees and was president of the Florida Academy of Audiology in 2000 and 2010. She has been married to Michael for 23 years and has one daughter.