Using Our Ears When Our Eyes Begin to Fail
I was listening to a financial advisor giving an online talk about being financially savvy as we age. As I was listening, I realized I would much rather read this than listen to it.
Relying on our listening skills
I have found that as I age, remembering what I hear is more difficult than it used to be — which made me think about my mother’s exceptional memory. After she lost her central vision to geographic atrophy and was unable to continue her normal voracious reading habits, she still remembered everything! I wish I had asked her then how she did it. When I read something to her that she had asked me to look up, it became firmly imprinted in her memory.
This made me think about how we use our listening skills when macular degeneration makes it more necessary, and we can no longer easily use our central vision.
Writing things down
I’m sure most of you have left your grocery list at home but remembered most of what was on it. Was it because you could visualize it? Or because the act of writing it down coupled with the visual of the list together made it visible in your "mind’s eye?"
I now keep my grocery list on my phone where I often dictate it as opposed to typing it in. As an experiment, I tried shopping without the phone and found I didn’t remember it as well as when I wrote it on a piece of paper, especially if I had dictated it.
Wakeful rest after learning can help solidify memory
After some research, I found that we can improve our listening skills, and that may be something I’ll need to depend on if my central vision deteriorates like my mother’s. With one eye "dry" and one "wet," that’s a definite possibility.
The results of one study I read showed an approach that seems both highly promising and very easy to put into action: Simply resting for a few minutes after listening rather than immediately beginning a new activity can help support enduring memories. In other words, resting for a bit after listening to or learning something new gives it some time to "stick."1
Exercise as a memory aid
Another memory aid is exercise. It is known to release proteins that can boost the part of the brain related to memory, but another study suggests the timing of it is crucial. It found exercising a few hours after learning was more effective than immediately afterward.2
Training my brain
What have I learned from this research? I’m going to start training my brain now. It just might make a difference. I will begin by listening instead of reading when possible, followed by a 10-minute rest and an exercise session 4 hours later. It can’t hurt! Well, maybe the exercise will. Have you discovered any other helpful hints you could share?
Editor's Note: As of August 2023, 2 drugs known as complement inhibitors — Syfovre® and Izervay™ — have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat geographic atrophy (GA).
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