16 Sept 2026
Dr Dunay Schmulian
September is World Alzheimer’s Month, a time to focus on brain health and dementia awareness. It’s also the perfect moment to discuss one of the most significant and modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline: untreated hearing loss.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently updated its guidelines for dementia risk reduction, and for the first time, it has formally included hearing aid use as a key intervention.
Hearing challenges aren't just about struggling to hear sounds, words or sentences. They’re also about feeling disconnected from loved ones, losing confidence in social situations, and, as we’re learning more and more, declining cognitive health.
The update to the dementia guidelines marks a profound shift, confirming what many of us in the audiology field have understood for years: Taking care of your hearing is a powerful way to invest in your brain health.
The Connection Between Hearing, Brain Strain, and Dementia
Your ears and your brain have a deeply collaborative relationship: Your ears collect sound, but it’s your brain that does the heavy lifting of making sense of it all. Indeed, hear as much with our brain as with our ears. When hearing challenges are present, sounds become muffled, distorted, or incomplete. Your brain is deprived of a clear signal, when you add the presence of fluctuating background noise, it is no surprise that many of our conversations are poorer in quality at the dinner table, when the TV is on and someone is speaking to you, when someone talks and leaves the room at the same time.
You have to strain to fill in the gaps, ask people to repeat themselves, and focus all your mental energy on just decoding the words. It’s tiring.
Over months and years, this constant strain forces your brain to reallocate resources. Cognitive energy that should be used for memory, critical thinking, and other important functions is diverted to the full-time job of just trying to hear and clean up the signal.
This leads to two major risks for your hearing and brain health:
Cognitive Overload: The brain is constantly working overtime to interpret degraded sound signals, which can deplete its cognitive reserves.
Social Isolation: When conversations become too difficult to follow, it’s easier to withdraw. You might start turning down invitations to meet friends or find family gatherings more stressful than joyful. This social isolation is a well-established and powerful risk factor for dementia.
By addressing hearing struggles, you give your brain a chance to breathe. You lighten its cognitive load, freeing up precious mental resources and making it easier to stay connected to the people and activities you love.
Understanding the WHO’s Updated Dementia Prevention Guidelines
For years, health experts have recommended managing factors like blood pressure, diet, and exercise to reduce dementia risk. The WHO’s decision to elevate hearing loss and the use of hearing aids where appropriate to this list of priorities officially recognises that proactive hearing care is a critical component of public health and healthy ageing.
What does this mean for you on the Sunshine Coast? Getting your hearing fully assessed is as important as getting your blood pressure checked. Using hearing aids where appropriate and addressing your hearing health are proactive moves for keeping your brain sharp and engaged.
The guidelines highlight that addressing hearing loss early is a proactive step that may help delay or reduce the risk of cognitive decline.
Why Early Action Matters
Many people wait an average of seven to 10 years from the time they first notice hearing changes before seeking help. During those years, the brain is deprived of sensory input, adapting to a world of reduced sound and working harder than it needs to.
Taking action early allows you to:
Reduce Mental Fatigue: Straining to listen takes a toll on your daily energy. Restoring sound clarity lets your brain process conversation effortlessly.
Stay Socially Active: Remaining engaged in conversations, community events, and gatherings with family keeps your mind active and reduces the risk of isolation.
Protect Brain Function: Giving your auditory cortex regular, clear input helps maintain the neural pathways responsible for listening and comprehension.
Taking the First Step with Cotton Tree Audiology
If you (or a loved one) have noticed changes in your hearing, such as needing the TV turned up higher, struggling to follow conversations in busy places, or frequently asking people to repeat themselves, then it’s time to schedule a baseline hearing assessment. If you are convinced that people in your life are mumbling when they speak to you, it may definitely be time to rule out any significant and treatable hearing loss.
Modern hearing technology is highly sophisticated and tailored to discretely fit your lifestyle and your budget. By making hearing health a standard part of your routine wellness care, you take a simple, empowering step toward protecting your cognitive health for years to come.
Ready to start your hearing health journey? Get in touch with Cotton Tree Audiology today to see how improved hearing health can make a world of difference in your overall wellbeing and brain health!
Sources
World Health Organisation (WHO):
Risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia: WHO guidelines, second edition
Provides evidence-based recommendations on addressing modifiable risk factors to support long-term brain health.
The Hearing Review:
Summarises the WHO’s landmark update, detailing how untreated hearing loss accounts for up to 7 percent of preventable dementia cases globally.
Dr Dunay Schmulian
Dunay has been helping people hear and connect since childhood—her first “clinic” began in a South African sandpit at age four. Now a globally recognised audiologist with a PhD and Master of Counselling, she combines science and compassion to transform lives affected by hearing loss and tinnitus.
