A new HearingLife study is shining light on a little-known link between hearing loss and dementia.

The study shows that 85 per cent of older Canadians are unaware of how untreated hearing loss can lead to cognitive decline.

Chief Audiologist at HearingLife, Jillian Price, says hearing loss is so much more than the inability to hear sound, as they believe it places an increased load on the brain.

Price says this takes resources away that otherwise deal with everyday tasks like memory recall. She says when you add the strain of trying to understand speech, it overloads the brain and affects the ability to do other tasks.

As May is Hearing Awareness Month, Price says it’s important for people to protect their ears from harm by using earplugs and trying to avoid areas with extreme noise exposure. She encourages people to add hearing tests to their wellness checklist.