BBC doctor says dementia study found symptom starting in ear 10 years before memory loss

BBC doctor says dementia study found symptom starting in ear 10 years before memory loss On BBC Morning Live NHS Dr said researchers found symptoms like tinnitus before people got Alzheimer’s disease A BBC health expert has explained how a new study found evidence that dementia may affect one part of the body years before major memory loss starts. Published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, the research by scientists at the University of Oulu and the University of Eastern Finland shows that people who develop early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, diagnosed before age 65, may have different health problems as long as 15 years before their diagnosis. On BBC Morning Live, Dr Oscar Duke explained the findings and said it even found links to very common conditions like tinnitus. He told hosts Rav Wilding and Louise Minchin: “This is a study from Finland, and what they did they were looking at particularly people with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. So that’s under the age of 65. “They looked at 407 people in that category and compared them to 4,000 normal people without that condition to see what sort of symptoms might have been linked or associated to Alzheimer’s disease. “Yes, they did find that there’s a small difference, but a statistically significant one in this study in terms of association with problems like hearing loss and tinnitus - that sort of ringing high-pitched frequency noises within your ear.” Dr Duke said that medical research has been linking hearing issues with Alzheimer’s for some time: “There’s been a lot of association between hearing loss and dementia. it’s very difficult the experts still argue about because no one really knows - whether there’s a direct link generally in life, whether there’s a similar process that’s causing both hearing loss and dementia so it’s not one causing the other but just something else causing both of them. Ensure our latest health headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings “Is it that because you’re not hearing so well, your brain’s not being stimulated, the synapses are not being activated so much in the brain and that’s what leads to dementia? “Is it the other way round - because you’re not getting all of the social interaction - that’s a potential link as well.” “There’s no direct cause in any studies but there’s certainly been association, and what we’re seeing a lot now is people are coming in worried about their memory but they’re often being forced in and pushed in by their family because they’re saying ‘you can’t hear you might end up having dementia go in and see your doctor.’” He said hearing loss has a ‘huge impact’ on people’s lives: “It can lead in itself to isolation, worsening mood, anxiety, depression and in the vast majority it’s very easily supported with hearing aids and other devices.” Dr Duke said if anyone is struggling with hearing families and friends should encourage them to get support. The study found that hearing problems, such as ringing in the ears and nerve-related hearing loss, can be early warning signs. In the six to 10 years before an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, people are twice as likely to report these problems, before serious thinking and memory loss becomes clear. Experts say this may happen because early plaques in the brain quietly harm the area that processes sound. Another possibility is that understanding sounds takes so much effort that the brain has less energy for other thinking tasks. According to the NHS, dementia is an umbrella term for a syndrome that causes an ongoing decline in brain functioning, affecting memory, thinking, language, behavior, and the ability to perform everyday activities. Dementia is not a natural or normal part of aging. It happens when diseases or injuries damage nerve cells in the brain, making it hard for brain cells to communicate properly. American healthcare researcher Neal K Shah said: “He said: “Six to 10 years out before the diagnosis - out of all 23 categories - one and only one warning light flashed: Oto rhino laryngological diseases. It’s the medical term for ear, nose, and throat conditions. Specifically, it came down to tinitis - a persistent ringing or buzzing in the ears, a bilateral sensory neural hearing loss, meaning that nerve related hearing loss happens in both ears. “Six to 10 years before diagnosis, future patients were more than twice as likely to have those ear conditions. 4.7% in the study versus 2.1% in controls, climbing to 5.2% versus 2.9% in the final five years. So why do ringing in your ears and hearing loss in your 50s connect to Alzheimer’s 10 years later? Scientists found two biological reasons.” People with Alzheimer's disease may also experience: - Difficulty finding the right words or following conversations. - Problems planning or organising everyday tasks. - Becoming confused about time or place. - Poor judgement or difficulty making decisions. - Changes in mood, personality or behaviour. - Withdrawal from hobbies, work or social activities. - Misplacing items and being unable to retrace steps to find them. If you’re worried about dementia, Alzheimer’s Society provides a wealth of information. Visit Alzheimers.org.uk. Watch the full BBC Morning Live show on iPlayer here.