- Hearing health is deeply connected to brain function — when hearing declines, the brain works harder to fill in the gaps, pulling resources away from thinking, memory, and concentration
- Mental wellbeing affects how you feel day to day, while cognitive wellbeing determines how well your brain processes, learns, and retains information — both are influenced by your hearing
- Unmanaged hearing loss can lead to mental exhaustion, social withdrawal, decreased confidence, and difficulty concentrating — even if the connection isn't immediately obvious
- Research from Johns Hopkins University found that mild hearing loss doubles the risk of dementia — making proactive hearing care an important part of long-term wellbeing
- Resonate Health's Ear360 assessment examines 10 points of hearing health including memory, sleep, balance, tinnitus, and brain health — going well beyond a standard hearing test
- Early awareness and action matters — understanding the link between hearing and cognitive health allows for proactive support before decline becomes harder to address
Our hearing plays a much bigger role in how we function day to day than many people realise. What you hear (or don’t hear) impacts how hard your brain has to work, how mentally tiring everyday life feels and how connected you are to the people around you.
It’s deeply connected to your cognitive and mental health, which is why we’re so passionate about ensuring you have the information you need to be proactive about your wellbeing.
What is mental and cognitive wellbeing?
Mental wellbeing is how you feel day to day. It influences your mood, your resilience, how well you cope with stress, and how manageable life feels. Cognitive wellbeing, on the other hand, refers to how well your brain processes information. It affects your ability to learn, process, and remember information clearly, as well as your memory, attention, and problem-solving skills.
When you experience positive mental and cognitive wellbeing, it’s easier to stay independent, feel confident, keep up socially, and maintain a good quality of life. But when they’re under pressure, life can start to feel harder than it used to, even if you don’t have a clear reason why.
How is your mental and cognitive wellbeing connected to your hearing health?
Your auditory system (hearing system) is made up of many different parts.
- Your outer ear directs sound waves to your eardrum (tympanic membrane), causing it to vibrate.
- These vibrations travel to your ossicles (tiny bones in your middle ear), before they’re sent to your cochlea (a spiral structure in your inner ear that’s lined with hair cells, each of which corresponds to a different pitch of sound)
- Finally, these tiny hair cells send signals to your auditory nerve (the nerve that connects your ears to your brain).
- As your brain receives this information, it translates it into sound. In other words, your brain is where your sense of hearing comes to life!
When you begin to lose your hearing, your brain doesn’t receive the information it expects and has to work overtime to fill in the gaps, pulling resources away from the “thinking” (cognitive) parts of your brain. Over time, more of your brain’s energy is spent on everyday tasks, such as following conversations, especially in noisy environments. That extra effort can lead to cognitive decline, social isolation, and leave you feeling mentally exhausted.
In real life, this could look like:
- Feeling drained after social situations
- Struggling to concentrate
- Withdrawing from conversations
- Decreased confidence
- Feeling more unsteady on your feet
Resonate Health is the only hearing provider prioritising proactive dementia prevention in New Zealand
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University found that mild hearing loss doubles our risk of dementia. This does not mean that hearing loss automatically leads to cognitive decline; however, it does mean taking care of your hearing health is just one of the ways you can support your long-term wellbeing.
The connection between hearing and your overall wellbeing is why we created Ear360, our 10-point hearing health assessment. Ear360 goes far beyond the sounds you can hear and looks at how it affects other areas of your life, such as:
We’ve enhanced the assessment to include new mental and cognitive fitness wellbeing factors, powered by Sonde Health, helping you better understand how your brain processes sound and how it leaves you feeling throughout the day.
Why does this matter to me?
Our number one priority is empowering you with the information you need to make a decision that feels right for you and your wellbeing.
Having a complete picture of your hearing health lets us be proactive and talk about what support might help you now and in the future.
If hearing aids are part of that conversation, we’ll explain why, how they work and the results you could expect to receive. The rest is up to you. You're in complete control of your hearing health journey; we're just here to provide honest advice to New Zealanders looking for ways to take care of their ears.
Resonate. The Podcast
Hi, I’m Alec, the audiologist at Resonate Health Bayfair!