What is Alzheimer’s Disease?
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia. Dementia is a group of symptoms that damage the brain such as memory loss, confusion and problems with language. As we age, our thought processes naturally slow down because our brains shrink a little.
In Alzheimer’s disease, the changes that occur are different to normal ageing. Two proteins called amyloid and tau build-up and damage our brain cells over time. It is not yet known what triggers the build-up of these proteins but the damage they cause affects our brains. You can find more information about this here.
Alzheimer’s Facts and Figures
- There are around 900,000 people with dementia in the UK right now
- Alzheimer’s affects around 6 in every 10 people with dementia in the UK
- 209,600 people will develop dementia this year = 1 every 3 minutes
- There are over 42,000 people under the age of 65 with dementia in the UK
- In April 2022 Dementia and Alzheimer’s was reported as England’s biggest killer
Dementia and Hearing Loss
Research shows that people living with hearing loss are more likely to develop dementia. It can be difficult to tell the difference between symptoms of dementia and hearing loss because one condition can mask the other. For example, struggling to follow a conversation could be caused by either dementia or hearing loss.
Ways to help
- It’s important for people with dementia to have regular hearing tests. Hearing aids will help to make the most of the hearing that the person does have.
- Show your facial expressions and use gestures when speaking to someone with dementia and hearing loss because this will help when communicating.
- Improve the environment by reducing background noise and distractions.
You can find out more information about dementia and hearing loss here.
If you have any queries about anything in this blog or would like to speak to an audiologist, please get in touch with us here.
