Older adults with hearing loss are likely to experience a higher level of brain shrinkage at a faster rate as they age, according to a recent study Medical News today reported.

Researchers from John Hopkins University in Maryland and the National Institute on Aging found that people with impaired hearing lose an additional cubic centimeter of brain matter than older people with normal hearing, adding to a growing list of health consequences associated with the condition, including increased risk of dementia, and weak physical and mental health overall.

"Our results suggest that hearing loss could be another 'hit' on the brain in many ways," Frank Lin, lead author of the study, said in a news release.

Using data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, researchers analyzed and tracked the brain changes of 126 study participants for 10 years. At the beginning of the study, 70 of the participants had normal hearing and 51 had impaired hearing, with at least a 25-decibel loss, researchers stated.

After analyzing the data, researchers found that participants whose hearing was already impaired at the start of the study had accelerated rates of brain shrinkage compared to those with normal hearing; they also lost more than an additional cubic centimeter of brain tissue each year, researchers said.

Lin said he was not surprised by the findings. He said people with hearing loss tend to use speech and sound less, brain structures linked to these processes are likely to shrink from lack of stimulation.

Shrinkage in these areas of the brain also affects memory and sensory integration, which is involved in early stages of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's.

Lin said he hopes the study gives some urgency to treating hearing loss rather than ignoring it.

"If you want to address hearing loss well you want to do it sooner rather than later. If hearing loss is potentially contributing to these differences we're seeing on MRI, you want to treat it before these brain structural changes take place," he said.

Lin and his team plan to examine whether treating hearing loss early can reduce the risk of associated health problems.