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Manipal : In an effort to draw public awareness towards age related hearing loss Department of Speech and Hearing, Manipal College of Health Professions (MAHE) conducted series of activities.The team had several activities for the public like Telephone consultation, webinars for professions and Facebook live talks for public, Radio Manipal talk from 7^th to 11^th December 2020. These events were informally inaugurated by Dr. Arun G Maiya, Dean, MCHP Manipal and Dr. Usha Devadas, HOD, Department of Speech and Hearing, MCHP.

Age related hearing loss is the third most common non-communicable disease. It is caused by damage of inner ear/ hair cells. Infact today almost 60% elderly population suffer from age related hearing loss and it can be said that almost 1 in every 3 person is facing the issue. Unfortunately this can cause dementia atleast 3.2 years before years earlier than individuals with normal hearing. Therefore, it is important to treat the hearing loss with an early intervention of doctors/audiologists and using hearing aid.

Dementia is also one of the most common pathology that affects older individuals. It is a condition in which includes deterioration of memory, language, thinking and impaired daily living activities. Although it is mainly seen in older individuals, it is not a part of natural aging. Currently, around 50 million people worldwide have dementia and it is projected to reach 152 million by 2050.Dementia has a huge impact on the physical, psychological and socio-economic status, of not only a person with dementia but on the whole family and society at large. Emerging evidences from National Institute on Ageing suggests abnormal accumulation of tau protein and amyloid beta in specific brain regions involved in memory during the Alzheimer’s related brain changes.

Sharing thoughts, Dr. Usha Devadas said, “Age related hearing loss (ARHL) is a serious concern that not only causes dementia but also accelerates cognitive decline. Over the last 10-15 years, growing epidemiological and clinical researches have established a link between ARHL and cognition.ARHL and cognitive decline share common underlying mechanisms like, vascular insufficiency and accumulation of harmful chemicals both in ear and brain, with damage to the ear preceding the brain. Other mechanism by which hearing loss is causing cognitive decline is thought to be linked with increased cognitive loadand decreased social engagement. The moment when an individual experiences hearing loss, he/she will gradually get socially isolated. This social disengagement is found to be one of the major causes the affects cognitive health of an individual. It is important that people have the right kind of awareness levels to be able to address the problem at an early stage. Our department is committed towards creating a public awareness thus it is a wake- up call to people who have been ignoring the issue.”