By RICK WEBER
There’s an overlooked connection between hearing health and brain health in older adults. Coming off Alzheimer’s Awareness Month in June, this is the perfect time to examine the role that hearing plays in maintaining cognitive function, emotional well-being and quality of life.
Florida Gulf Coast University assistant professor Amy Dudley, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, believes that simple, proactive care can make a life-changing difference, and that something as basic as earwax removal can transform lives in Southwest Florida.
Every Monday at a local retirement community, Dudley runs an ear clinic for older adults and works hands-on with them, focusing on primary-care needs such as cerumen management, hearing preservation, chronic-disease management and mobility concerns. Through her work, she has seen firsthand how clearing cerumen impactions can restore hearing clarity, reduce fall risk and help individuals re-engage with their families and communities.
“This work is more than just clinical—it is deeply personal,” Dudley says. “When someone tells me they can hear their grandchildren again or feel safer walking without dizziness, that is a victory for their independence and dignity. These small interventions are often the tipping point that helps prevent larger problems, like cognitive decline or social isolation.”
Hearing health is more than just ear care. It is brain care. During a recent presentation at the American College of Lifestyle Medicine Conference, she spoke about the strong connection between untreated hearing loss and cognitive decline in older adults.
“Studies have shown hearing loss—especially moderate to severe loss—can triple the risk of developing dementia,” she says. “It is not just about missing out on conversation. It is about the way the brain reorganizes when auditory input decreases. Areas of the brain responsible for memory and language begin to atrophy when they are underused, and that process accelerates cognitive decline.”
At FGCU, she translates this knowledge into teaching and research as an assistant professor in the Marieb College of Health and Human Services within the School of Nursing’s Doctor of Nursing Family Nurse Practitioner Program.
Dudley’s real-world experience manifests itself in the classroom because it informs everything she teaches—bringing the needs, voices and stories of real older adults directly into the learning space.
She doesn’t just teach students how to write a SOAP note or prescribe a medication—she helps them see the why behind the care. For example, when she describes a patient who felt isolated and anxious because of untreated hearing loss, and how a hearing aid helped her rejoin conversations and regain confidence, her students immediately understand how deeply clinical decisions affect someone’s day-to-day life.
“These kinds of stories are powerful and sticky as they tend to stay with students long after graduation,” she says.
She also teaches students that care for older adults must be both evidence-based and compassion-driven. While they discuss guidelines, they also explore how to engage older patients in conversations about independence, dignity and aging in place.
She challenges students to think holistically: Can this patient hear well enough to follow instructions? Is their dizziness being caused by an impaction that can be treated? Are we doing enough to prevent cognitive decline?
But she doesn’t just talk about clinical practice—she invites students into it. She regularly brings the Doctor of Nursing Practice students with her to the medical center, where she serves as their preceptor. Together, they work side by side with residents, applying classroom knowledge in a real-world setting. These students also lead translational research and quality improvement projects designed to directly enhance the lives of older adults in Southwest Florida.
“Whether it is exploring ways to prevent hospital readmissions, optimize medication use or improve oral care routines, these student-driven projects are not only advancing care, but they are also instilling a sense of responsibility and advocacy in our future nurse leaders,” she says.
“Ultimately, I want my students to leave with more than knowledge. I want them to leave with purpose. I want them to see that little things—like checking someone’s ears, asking the right questions or referring them to an audiologist—can have life-changing effects. That’s how we preserve autonomy. That’s how we help people age in place safely and with joy. And that’s the kind of nurse practitioner I hope to shape—one who sees older adults not as a checklist, but as whole people deserving of thoughtful, preventive care.”
She says working as a nurse practitioner at the retirement community has been one of the most fulfilling aspects of her entire career.
“Every interaction I have with our older adult residents is a reminder of why I became a nurse in the first place,” she says. “Behind every chart and diagnosis is a person with a rich life story, wisdom to share and a deep desire to live with dignity, purpose and connection.
“Every day in the clinical setting reminds me aging is not something to be feared—it is something to be honored. And having the chance to make that journey more comfortable, more connected and more joyful for others is incredibly meaningful to me.”
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