David's Alzheimer's Fight
Hosted by David Uhlfelder, who is facing early-stage Alzheimer’s with resilience and humor, alongside co-host Dr. Karen Gilbert, this podcast shines a light on living well with the disease. Together, they share personal stories, expert insights, and practical tips to help others navigate the journey with strength, knowledge, and hope.
David's Alzheimer's Fight
Your Ears Are Your Brain's First Line of Defense Against Alzheimer's
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Dr. Lindsay Gracie reveals the critical connection between hearing loss and cognitive decline, explaining how addressing hearing issues may help prevent Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
Hearing loss affects one in three adults over 65 and half of adults over 75, yet often goes undiagnosed.
For questions or comments, email education@alzcare.org or david@davidsalzheimersfight.org, or call 561-683-2700.
Introduction to Dr. Lindsay Gracie
Speaker 1This podcast shares insights , not medical advice . Please consult a professional for your care . Welcome to David's Alzheimer's Fight . I'm David Ufelder , and joining me is my co-host , Dr Karen Gilbert .
Speaker 2Thank you , david . It's such a pleasure to be here again . I'm Karen Gilbert , vice President of Education and Quality Assurance for Alzheimer's Community Care , serving families in Palm Beach , martin and St Lucie counties in South Florida . Today , it is my great pleasure to introduce our guest , dr Lindsay Gracie . Dr Gracie is a doctor of audiology and the owner and operator of Wave Audiology in Port St Lucie , florida . With over a decade of experience , dr Gracie is a passionate leader who believes in the enrichment of health through better hearing . Dr Gracie will explain the connection between hearing and brain health and why addressing hearing loss is vital if we want to age with the best possible cognitive function . Dr Gracie has collaborated with Alzheimer's Community Care by presenting an in-depth presentation for our St Lucie County community and by presenting a session at our recent May 2025 Education Conference . Welcome , dr Gracie .
Speaker 3Thank you , that was such a lovely introduction and I want to say thank you to both you and to David also for having me on today , and it's such a pleasure to be able to come in and talk about a topic that I'm so passionate about , and just grateful that you guys are taking the time out to shed some light on the connection between our ears and our brain .
Speaker 2Well , I think we've identified a number of questions for David to pose , and those answers will certainly enlighten listeners about why hearing health is so incredibly important . So , David , I'll let you take it away .
Speaker 1Hi . Thank you again , dr Gracie , for joining us . The question is how many Americans is said to be experiencing hearing loss ?
Prevalence of Hearing Loss in America
Speaker 3This is so common . So hearing loss and issues related to the ears affects one in three adults over the age of 65 . So the population of patients that I work with very closely are adults and older adults . We are an aging species , so we are seeing humans live into their late 80s , 90s , even early 100s . So we're looking at the aging process more closely . It's estimated that half of adults over the age of 75 are living with hearing loss . So it's a very , very common symptom . It's a very common symptom of the aging process .
Speaker 3I explain to my patients that this is not something we can escape very easily . It is genetic but likely due to age-related changes to the body which plagues everybody at different rates . It's one of those things that we don't typically see diagnosed . Oftentimes it goes underdiagnosed because we spend so much time in society looking at newborns we're really good about checking newborns for hearing loss , we're great about following school-age children and then we have this like 40 or 50-year gap where no one is evaluating our hearing in our ears and during this time things are changing . So it's really important to everybody . I stress whenever I do a talk somewhere if you take away nothing I've said today , take away the importance of getting a baseline hearing test Anybody over the age of 60 , I highly encourage it .
Speaker 1What are some of the signs that let somebody know that they should take note of what's happening and find out what's going on ?
Speaker 3Oftentimes the very basic things . Your television volume is starting to go up . You're starting to ask people to repeat themselves . You're saying what it sounds like everybody is muffled or everybody is mumbling , missing things in dialogue , finding that you're lip reading , you're concentrating on what people are saying , you're struggling when there's background noise . That's a very common complaint that I hear from patients . Most often people will say I hear that people are talking , but I'm missing bits and pieces of what they're saying , and that's a very common sign of hearing loss .
Speaker 1What's the connection between hearing and cognition ?
Hearing Loss Signs and Symptoms
Speaker 3So this has been so fascinating because it's something that we as an industry have speculated about for decades and very recently we've had substantial data to really look at the effect of hearing in the brain . So the breakthrough study was completed by Harvard University which showed a direct correlation , a significant
Connection Between Hearing and Cognition
Speaker 3correlation , between hearing loss and cognitive decline . So this was a large study that they looked over decades , thousands of participants , older adults and they found that with hearing loss , the brain was working harder . So when someone suffers from hearing loss , their brain is using resources from other parts of the brain to hear better , to understand , to process speech . So we use vision Without thinking about it . We're using our eyes to lip read .
Speaker 3We look for facial cues , you know , is the person asking us a question ? Are they saying something funny ? Are they upset asking us a question ? Are they saying something funny ? Are they upset ? We're pulling from our memory . We're using past conversations . What topics have we talked about ? We're using logic . Okay , we're talking about dinner . They're probably asking me about food . Reasoning comes into play . All of those resources are being pulled in so that a patient can understand the conversation better . Now that sounds great because your brain is doing its job . It's working hard . However , we know that an overworked brain deteriorates faster , so we start to see something called atrophy . Atrophy is when parts of the brain start to deteriorate and die off , and that's where we have a problem in terms of development , cognitive decline , and then those have become the risk factors for dementia and Alzheimer's as well .
Speaker 1What age do you think adults should have a baseline hearing evaluation or treatment
Recommended Age for Hearing Evaluation
Speaker 1?
Speaker 3Conservatively , I would always estimate anybody over the age of 50 . We start to identify age-related changes around the age of 55 . Identify age-related changes around the age of 55 . 60 is the industry cutoff . So anyone over the age of 60 should have a hearing test just to get a baseline , and then we can monitor it . In the same way you would have your eyes checked or your teeth checked . I recommend one hearing test every year , even if you feel like things are going well . It gives us a baseline test to watch it .
Speaker 3There's more that we look for with hearing . We hear the sound with our ears , but we understand speech with the brain . So when we do a hearing test , we put people in a sound booth and we play beeps and ask them to raise their hand when they hear a beep , but we also ask them to repeat words . That gives us an idea of the load that we're putting on the brain in terms of speech understanding . Is it easy for them to understand speech or do they have difficulty when there's speech presented to them ? And that gives us an idea of what kind of conversation to have with them about the mental load that they're carrying and the pressure that they're putting on the brain .
Speaker 1How does this relate to Alzheimer's and the hearing test ?
Speaker 3When we look at the hearing tests , the biggest risk factor , like I said , are those the speech decline . So speech understanding , because that means we're starting to see that atrophy of the nerve and it affects the portion of the brain that processes speech , which is called the auditory cortex . They've actually done studies where they do brain scans on patients that have normal hearing , patients who have hearing loss and patients who wear hearing aids and the brain actually does change . The brain starts to remap because of the deterioration of hearing . So again it's pulling resources from other areas and this remapping of the brain is taking resources from places it shouldn't , is taking resources from places it shouldn't .
Speaker 3Somebody who has a hearing loss , the mapping of their brain is completely different from somebody who has normal hearing . So we know there's a deterioration happening . And the biggest thing we look for in the amount of hearing loss . The studies have shown that a mild hearing loss put patients , they estimated , two times more likely to develop Alzheimer's , and that's for a mild hearing loss . So this is probably someone who isn't ready for hearing aids yet . It may be the start of hearing loss . We can have a moderate hearing loss , moderately severe , a severe hearing loss , and they said that when we dropped to a severe hearing loss in the study that patients were five times more likely to develop Alzheimer's . And I want to stress that that's untreated hearing loss . So these are people walking around without any type of hearing aid or amplification
Hearing Loss and Alzheimer's Risk
Speaker 3.
Speaker 1Is these types of hearing evaluations covered by Medicare or other health insurance plans ?
Speaker 3Medicare covers one hearing test every year . Ok , so that's most of the patients that I see . Medicare Advantage has the same benefits and most of the commercial policies also cover one hearing test a year , so every 12 months , without prior authorization . So the insurance companies are aware that hearing is important . Hearing is important for the brain , the body , people's mental health , social , emotional health , and this is why , in a conversation later , we're starting to see insurance companies contribute not only toward hearing testing but also hearing aids , because they're looking at hearing aids as a preventative measure rather than just a bonus to help you . They're actually seeing it as a way to keep people out of memory care .
Speaker 2When we go out and teach about heart and brain healthy strategies , we are also teaching get that baseline hearing exam . We typically say , as you alluded to earlier , by age 50 is not unreasonable . I also qualify it by saying , of course , if you think you have a symptom and you're 35 , you should not wait because of that risk . And of course , if someone works in an industry where they are continually exposed to loud noise , if they frequent concerts , you know where the volume is quite high if they're not wearing hearing protection . So are there any advocacy endeavors to try to relate to the person under 50 who may have been exposed and does not realize the long-term potential for cognitive decline simply because of that hearing damage ?
Early Hearing Damage and Prevention
Speaker 3Absolutely . I mean this has been an issue that we've looked at very closely in the industry because we've seen a lot of young people identified with hearing loss earlier . The average patient age is starting to drop because we are seeing more young people who don't have age-related hearing loss but they do have music noise-induced , some occupational noise exposure . Certainly with our military men and service women we're seeing noise exposure and that already puts them at a higher risk because their hearing loss is the onset is earlier . So I try to stress to participants at the lectures , and sometimes I'll go into schools and talk to kids about the importance of our ears and protecting our hearing .
Speaker 3We've coined the term the iPod generation , so kids that have grown up with earbuds in their ear . You know they're not over , some of them are over the ears , but most of them have been putting the headphones in their ears listening to them hours at a time and so that is causing noise induced hearing loss and when we have an earlier onset of hearing loss the part of that brain is working harder earlier . So the studies that Harvard did , the age group that they were looking at was over the age of 65 . So if they had identified , okay , so we have someone , an individual , who started with hearing loss in their 30s . Now they've got 20 years of regression . That can happen .
Speaker 3The stress that it puts on the brain prior to getting to the aging process Are they at a bigger disadvantage because of the earlier induction of hearing loss ? So , absolutely , I try to stress to people the importance of protecting your ears when you go to these musical festivals , when you go to these concerts . Put in some earplugs , put in some foam or silicone , something to dampen the sound , so that you're not exposing yourself to the loud sound , because it takes one time to get that damage and it's irreversible . So that type of hearing loss we can't fix .
Speaker 2Right and you know I've often thought that there should be some limits put on these concerts because of that . You know occupational safety and health administration is not looking at this . I know the gym I go to I have to wear hearing protection because they just play the music too loud so it's uncomfortable . It is very uncomfortable and actually wearing the hearing protection takes the distortion out of the music so you're actually hearing better quality , I believe , at concerts at the gym and so on .
Speaker 3The best thing is you can still hear with the earplugs in . You're listening at a much safer level , but you're able to carry conversations still .
Speaker 2Exactly , and one of the goals that David and I have is to try to mitigate this dire prediction of the numbers of people expected to develop Alzheimer's between now and 2050 if nothing changes . And we believe there are so many lifestyle approaches and strategies that people can change and , knowing that Alzheimer's is a multifactorial disorder , there's no one thing that causes it . Yes , there's a genetic influence , but that's just a risk factor . That's not necessarily determining someone will absolutely develop Alzheimer's . It now appears that all of these other issues diet , exercise , socialization and so on and we consider hearing just as important as any of those other approaches . So we really , really appreciate your coming on with us today .
Speaker 2This information is an incredible part of that advocacy that we are trying , david and I are trying to advance , to inspire proactive , preventive strategies for preserving brain health ,
Closing Thoughts and Contact Information
Speaker 2and we hope those listening will take advantage , get that screening done and start to treat that hearing loss should it be discovered . Treat that hearing loss should it be discovered . So thank you all for listening . We hope you continue to listen to these podcasts as we cover so many aspects of the ways we can stay brain healthy , and for questions or comments you can send me an email at education at allscareorg that's education at A-L-Z-C-A-R-Eorg or directly to David , his email address , david at davidsalzheimersfightorg . And , of course , you can also reach us by phone , 561-683-2700 . Again , thank you so much for joining and thank you again , dr Gracie .
Speaker 3Thank you guys for having me , and I applaud both of you on this journey . You're going on to shed light on a topic that has such a significant impact on people's quality of life and allows them to start having very meaningful conversations , so it's amazing .
Speaker 1Please note this podcast provides information only . Podcasts should not be considered professional advice or a substitute for professional advice . Not be considered professional advice or a substitute for professional advice . Viewers of the speakers do not necessarily reflect those of Alzheimer's , Community Care or David Ufelder . Listeners and viewers are encouraged to consult with appropriate professionals and are responsible for how the information provided is used .
