Dr. Konstantina Stankovic

Do you need all 10 of them to perceive sound?

No, you need one.

However, you need all 10 of them if you are in a noisy environment.

So going back then to the link between hearing loss and cognitive decline, we are now using different tests to identify people who are at risk and studies such as testing speech in noise or the ability to understand words in a noisy environment as opposed to in a quiet environment turns out to be helpful.

It's not so simple.

It's not there is one test that has perfect sensitivity and specificity, but the field has recognized the need to develop better hearing tests, which are being developed.

It's a brain thing, it's a circuit, and it's absolutely essential for understanding speech and noise.

In fact, people with hearing loss typically experience problems understanding speech and noise.

They have no problem in a quiet and facing you.

In fact, that's a big

message for everyone who is listening that it's more important to face someone and speak slowly if they have hearing loss than speaking loudly.

I mean, than yelling.

And so if someone has hearing loss,

and you are trying to talk to them with water running or TV on or you are trying to talk to them from a different room, forget about it.

You really have to face them and it has to be quiet and you have to slow down and then they can really understand so much more.

We think that it's both.

However, the direct link has not been established yet.

Lots of studies are being done, both in people and in animal models, trying to really establish the direct link.

So there are

data supporting it and refuting it, so that's why it's an active area of research.