Speaker: Janet Hock
Research shows that hearing loss is the greatest risk factor for falling, especially in older people, and following hip or knee replacement surgery or skeletal fractures. Balance is also affected by the loss of proprioception, the sense of where one’s body is in space, when nerve pathways to the brain are disrupted by orthopedic surgery. Many orthopedists and physical therapists are not aware of how important hearing is as a risk factor in falls in their surgical patients. A brief overview of diagnosis and treatment options for hearing loss will be reviewed.
Janet Hock is a retired professor, biomedical research scientist and periodontist. She has worked in university, pharmaceutical and biotech settings in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, Maine and Indiana. She is a current club member.
Program: Do you know where your feet are?
Speaker: Janet Hock, PhD and more, retired periodontist, biomedical scientist and lead scientific officer, biotech executive, nonprofit director in cancer research, professor, STC member and previous speaker
Introduced By: Bill Halsema
Attendance: NESC: 103, Zoom: 26
Guest(s): Anita Murray-Clary
Scribe: Bill Dick
Editor: Carl Warner
Talk’s Zoom recording found at: https://www.scientechclubvideos.org/zoom/05182026.mp4
Dr. Janet Hock spoke to us today about proprioception or where our body is in space.
Balance is an interplay of mobility, proprioception, vision and hearing. Proprioception is sensory integration with vision and hearing (and the inner ear). Hearing is important to the whole process.
Falls occur in 30-50 % of adults over 60. Falls are 2.5 times higher in adults with osteoarthritis. Falls continue in adults with joint replacements. Adults in the 60-90 age group can have impaired mobility. Falls happen after joint replacement in 30-50 % of patients because of muscle weakness, pain medication, fear of falling, chronic diseases (especially stroke) and postural hypotension.
Joint replacement surgery injures proprioception. It is more likely that pre-existing disease or trauma in the joint is responsible.
Balance is impaired with reduced proprioception and impaired sensory orientation due to vision or hearing problems. The brain receives and interprets information from vestibular organs in the inner ear, the eyes and stretch receptors. Proprioception is the ability to sense the body or a joint in space. It is essential to all daily activities. A decrease in that sense leads to a decrease in balance and mobility, leading to falls. Better proprioception reduces the fall risk.
Stable posture is the integration of vision, proprioception, vestibular cues and auditory signals. If one of these sensory inputs is impaired, the other two compensate. All may decline with age to impair balance.
There is a correlation between hearing loss and balance stability. Loss of high frequency hearing leads to processing problems in the brain, which are needed for good balance and motion. Aging and systemic disease can affect auditory and vestibular end organs. When hearing is impaired, brain effort is diverted to hearing versus posture control.
High frequency hearing loss is common in older people. One knows that the hearing is impaired when other people tell you; it is very difficult to self-diagnose. Some sounds are lost as hearing declines. Hearing can be tested by an audiologist. If hearing aids are prescribed, it may take 3-6 months to adjust.
To help another person hear you, face them. Keep to one conversation. Talk slower, not louder. Speak clearly and pause between sentences. Rephrase rather than repeat. Socialize in quieter spaces.
Janet Hock
