Untreated hearing loss is changing your brain
May 16, 2024
An image of a brain with the words untreated hearing loss is changing your brain

Research reveals that hearing loss actually rewires your neural pathways


Your Amazing Brain

Your brain is an amazing organ! This wrinkly, reddish-pink mass weighs about the same as your two-slice toaster, tipping the scales at about three pounds. Acting as a master control center, your brain enables every thought, breath, eye blink, heartbeat, movement—everything—that happens in your body. Rivaling the world’s most powerful supercomputer, your brain can download, process, and react in milliseconds to the tidal wave of information coming from your eyes, skin, nose, tongue, and ears.

 

Neuroplasticity and Your Sense of Hearing

Researchers have discovered that the human nervous system—made up of the brain, spinal cord, and a complex network of nerves—has incredible capacity to modify itself, both in function and physical structure. This is called neural plasticity. Dr. Megan Johnson, audiologist and owner of Johnson Audiology explains, “Neural plasticity is going gangbusters in a child’s brain as the child develops and matures into adulthood. Based on years of brain research, we also know that the adult brain is far from being fixed. It, too, changes and adapts when you learn new information or skills or as a response to stress, hormonal fluctuations, drug interactions, injury, and much more.”

 

Dr. Johnson also relates that “your brain displays neuroplasticity when you experience hearing loss.” By measuring brain waves using an electroencephalograph, or EEG, scientists have studied how the brain of a person with hearing loss functions compared to a person with normal hearing. The results are both fascinating and sobering as studies reveal that, in those with hearing loss, the portion of the brain devoted to hearing becomes reorganized. This can be true even with early-stage, mild hearing loss, and the process happens quickly, often in months rather than years.

 

The Hearing Center of Your Brain and Beyond

What is actually happening when this takes place? Your brain has a right and a left hemisphere and six major lobes. Think of your frontal lobe as your brain’s boss, where executive functions like decision making, emotion and impulse control, and planning occur. Your temporal lobe, which contains the auditory cortex, is doing the heavy lifting when it comes to interpreting sounds and assigning those sounds meaning. The temporal lobe processes speech and language, and it is where initial learning of new information takes place, which is the first step for logging that information into memory.

 

Dr. Johnson goes on to relate, “When the delicate infrastructure of your ear has become damaged through noise exposure, infection, etc. leading to hearing loss, your auditory cortex cries out to your frontal lobe, saying ‘Help! Help! I’m not receiving any sound to process, so I feel lost.’ The frontal lobe ‘boss’ jumps to attention, and your occipital lobe, responsible for processing vision and touch, takes over the areas in which hearing is normally processed. In other words, your other senses seek to compensate for the deficit due to the loss of your sense of hearing.”

 

Amazing, right? So, where’s the rub? Picture a car assembly line; each worker has an assigned task. One day, the worker who installs the windshields is absent, and the worker who attaches the rearview mirrors is assigned double duty, and a duty that was not part of job training. It is easy to see how the worker left juggling both jobs is compromised, and a car might slip through minus a rear view mirror.

 

Similarly, the areas of your brain that are being taxed to make up for a lack of hearing are overloaded and less able to do their assigned responsibilities. “This explains why so many of my patients with hearing loss relate feeling exhausted and frustrated after a big family gathering—where multiple talkers and sounds must be interpreted—rather than happy and invigorated by the experience. We call this listening fatigue,” states Dr. Johnson.

 

Additionally, when left untreated long enough, researchers point to the brain’s reorganization due to hearing loss as a significant correlation with dementia.

 

Hearing Technology and Your Brain

“But here's the great news!” Dr. Johnson says. When a person is fit with hearing aids or a cochlear implant and sound is restored, the brain has the ability to adjust back—partially or completely—to proper function. How swiftly that happens often depends on how long the hearing loss went untreated and is why she encourages patients to treat hearing loss sooner rather than later. “Here is what I tell patients who are downplaying the importance of hearing: If you won’t treat your hearing loss for the sake of your ears, do it for your brain!”

A silhouette of a person 's head with a brain and speech bubbles around it.
By Jan Hollingsworth July 22, 2025
Wondering about that ringing in your ears? Join us for a free community event where our audiologists will discuss tinnitus—what causes it, how it can affect you, and real solutions. Whether you are new to it or have lived with it for years, come learn and ask questions in a relaxed setting. Space is limited! Reserve your spot today! Date: Friday, August 16, 2025 Time: 10 am to 11 am Location: Johnson Audiology's Chattanooga office location at 6830 Lee Highway RSVP to 423-710-1432 or submit the form below.
By Jan Hollingsworth June 4, 2025
Like anything new in life, adjusting to hearing aids can take time and perseverance to achieve the best results. Yet many people are too quick to give up, not allowing the brain the chance to relearn how to hear or not giving themselves the opportunity to become accustomed to the use and maintenance of their devices. “We meet so many people who wait—who convince themselves their hearing is not ‘bad enough’ or that they can just get by. But untreated hearing loss quietly steals moments, connection, and joy. At Johnson Audiology, we understand the fear, the frustration, and the doubt. That is why we offer more than hearing aids—we offer compassion, answers, and a partner you can trust. You don’t have to do this alone. Let us help you hear your life again,” says Dr. Megan Johnson, audiologist and owner of Johnson Audiology. “Hearing aids should never be an experience where a person is fit with devices and then they never see their hearing care provider again. To ensure patient success, Johnson Audiology seeks to be a lifelong partner on a person’s journey to healthy hearing, someone who is there at every turn,” says Dr. Megan Johnson, audiologist and owner of Johnson Audiology. What are the most common reasons why people give up on hearing aids and why is it important to stick with it? Reasons why people might give up on hearing aids An adjustment period It is your brain that hears, not your ears. The ears transmit sound to the brain where it is interpreted. Dr. Johnson explains, “When a person’s brain has not been stimulated by sound because of hearing loss and then sound is restored with hearing aids, it can take some getting used to. For some people, it takes more than one appointment to get them up to full sound prescription, stair stepping up gradually to let the brain adjust. The brain’s capacity to do this is called neural plasticity .” Research by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Hearing Epidemiology and Research Diagnostic Laboratory has revealed that what the brain can experience impacts within weeks rather than years when hearing loss reaches a certain level. Dr. Johnson says, “The brain’s temporal lobe is where much of hearing and sound interpretation happens. Electroencephalogram (EEG), which is a medical test that measures the electrical activity of the brain, shows that in the presence of hearing loss, the brain will recruit areas assigned to other tasks—like vision—to compensate. The trouble is that this extra cognitive load can tax those areas. However, after treatment with hearing aids, brain recruitment is shown to reverse, partially or fully.” The adjustment period for hearing aids tends to be more seamless for those who have not been without sound for years and years. Dr. Johnson says, “I always encourage people to get their hearing checked when they first notice they are struggling. Sooner is always better.” An investment in quality of life People often make an investment in their health and well-being—for example, purchasing glasses, getting a knee replacement, straightening their teeth—and yet many relegate hearing to the backburner because of cost. Dr. Johnson says, “I’ve seen many patients struggle with hearing aids after buying inferior products in an attempt to save money. Without the guidance of a hearing care provider, even the best device can quickly become ineffective and frustrating.” Dr. Johnson encourages making hearing a priority and budgeting for your hearing health. Perceived benefits and ease of use Getting in the routine of putting hearing aids in each day and being diligent about regular cleaning and maintenance might be a challenge that some face and which deters them from being successful with their aids. “At Johnson Audiology, we offer a plan for regular in-office cleaning and maintenance, easing the task of upkeep for patients. Plus, our offices have dedicated walk-in hours that do not require an appointment. We are here to answer questions, make hearing aid adjustments, and much more as we seek to help people safeguard their investment in hearing technology and make the process easy and convenient.” Family attitudes and support When it comes to hearing aids, having a support system can be crucial to success. “In my 20 years as an audiologist, I have seen the immense benefits when a person’s family members show patience and support during the adjustment period with new hearing aids,” said Dr. Johnson. What about patients who do not have that familial encouragement? Dr. Johnson says, “We are your support system. That’s where our caring and professional audiologists, audiology assistants, and patient care coordinators can lend a helping hand. Success with hearing aids is our goal for every patient, so we promise to be there every step of the way.” Why is healthy hearing so important Hearing loss is a family affair The positive impact of treating hearing loss is often manifested most significantly through improved relationships with family and friends. Hearing loss leads to miscommunication. It can also cause mounting frustration as family members must constantly repeat every sentence. Dr. Johnson comments, “Living with the TV blaring can put a strain on others living in the same household. Untreated hearing loss can quietly tear at the fabric of your relationships. When words go unheard and conversations fade, love and connection start to suffer, and that pain is felt by all involved.” Healthy hearing can help the brain stay sharp and pliable For many years, researchers at Johns Hopkins University have been studying the relationship between hearing loss and dementia. While there is still much left to discover, increasingly scientists recognize healthy hearing as a key factor in maintaining a healthy brain and potentially decelerating the risk of dementia, like Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Johnson says, “It seems logical that when certain areas of the brain are not stimulated by sound, they atrophy. In fact, research suggests an actual reduction in the physical size of the brain, especially in areas where sound processing and memory take place.” She goes on to say that “while there are many risk factors that individuals cannot control about the effects of aging on the brain, hearing is definitely one that can and should be addressed.” Healthy hearing keeps a person engaged in life Humans are social beings. Since hearing loss can impair effective communication, it is not difficult to understand how it also could lead to social isolation, which can cause increased anxiety and depression. “Conversely, addressing hearing loss can keep a person engaged in life and connected to family and friends,” Dr. Johnson says. Falls and other health risks The ears have two main functions. Hearing is one that most of us learn as youngsters, but the ears also play a major role in helping a person maintain their balance and knowing where their body is in space. “The fluid, or endolymph, in the ear’s semicircular canals is what helps a person do things like stand up from a seated position without falling, walk a straight line, and not run into a door frame when turning a corner into a room,” says Dr. Johnson. In the presence of hearing loss, the reduction in acoustic signals impairs a person’s ability to process spatial information and can mean a higher risk for falling. In turn, falling can lead to broken bones and other injuries and a cascading effect of hospital stays and loss of independence. If you have been unsuccessful with hearing aids in the past, call Johnson Audiology, a hearing health clinic comprised of caring and professional staff. The team can bring a range of options to the table to help people hear better, including hearing aids from all six of the major manufacturers, custom fit products, cochlear implants, and Lyric, the world’s only extended wear hearing aid. Call your office of choice today or schedule online.