Hearing Aids May Help Alzheimer's and Dementia Patients

Chicago - There may be a way to ease the symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer’s, which affect millions of people. It might be as easy as having the patient's hearing tested.

Hearing aids are making a big difference in the lives of patients and their caregivers.

Sy Pullman was once the life of the party. But then he started to lose his hearing. Two years ago, a sudden illness short-circuited his short-term memory and left him withdrawn.

"It wasn't easy especially when you have memory loss or dementia, you get down and depressed and then how do you get him back up if you're trying to talk to him and they're not hearing you," Arlene Pullman said.

So Sy got hearing aids, and as his hearing improved. So did his memory and his sense of humor.

For Sy, it was remarkable: "You can hear your wife a lot better now can't you, yes even when I don't want to."

Audiologist Ronna Fisher said she's not surprised by Sy's improvement. She said dementia or Alzheimer’s symptoms are often exacerbated by hearing problems.

"There's such a close link between memory and hearing because how can you remember it if you can't hear it.” Fisher said.

Almost all Alzheimer’s patients have significant hearing loss. It's not clear why, but Fisher said physicians rarely considered it when evaluating the severity of the disease.

“Thirty-three percent of patients diagnosed with senile dementia when hearing loss was treated were reclassified into a lesser category."

Fisher added that she's seen significant improvement in about 70 percent of Alzheimer’s patients, who have had their hearing corrected. She has been treating patients like Sy Pullman with a new disposable hearing aid, called the Lyric. It is implanted, so it can't be lost.

"There's no care and maintenance. It’s something that is inserted deeply within the ear canal and stays there for three or four months at a time," Fisher said.

Sy and his wife said they plan to check-out the new device. But for now, Arlene said she’s just happy that Sy is able to laugh again.

Asked if she thought she had her husband back, Arlene replied, “Yes, definitely.”