Link Between Hearing Health and Dementia
Many people have the preconception that dementia is an inevitable part of the ageing process, and while it is common (one in ten Australian over 65 have dementia), it is not necessarily inevitable as there are simple life style choices that can help minimise your risk.
What is dementia?
Dementia is an umbrella term that describes a collection of symptoms caused by disorders affecting the brain. Dementia is not a specific disease as there are many disease states that cause dementia. Alzheimer's disease is the most common (up to 70% of dementia cases) followed by, Vascular dementia, Dementia with Lewy bodies, Fronto Temporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD), Huntington's disease, Alcohol related dementia (Korsakoff's syndrome) and Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease.
Dementia patients brain function is affected in ways that interfere with social and working life. Dementia patients thinking, behaviour and the ability to perform everyday tasks becomes limited to the extent that full time care is required.
Who gets dementia?
While it is more common in the older population, it is important to understand that not all older people get dementia, because there are genetic and life style factors that have a significant influence. Dementia is not a normal part of life, but it can happen to anyone at any age.
Dementia is a significant issue because of the social and economic cost to society. In 2017 dementia cost the Australian economy over fourteen billion dollars and is projected to increase to over a trillion in the next forty years. Thus, it is important for yourself, family and Australia in general to do all we can to mitigate potential adverse factors that increase dementia risk.
Dementia risk reduction.