People who wear hearing aids appear to reduce their risk of dementia to the level of their peers who don’t have hearing loss, a study of more than 430,000 people has found.
Hearing loss is thought to account for 8% of dementia cases globally. In the new study, investigators examined data from the U.K. Biobank to determine how hearing aid use might affect dementia risk. The average age of study participants was 56 years old at baseline, with an average follow-up of 12 years. One-quarter of the study participants had some level of hearing loss, and 12% of those used hearing aids.
When compared to participants with normal hearing, those with hearing loss who did not use hearing aids were 42% more likely to have all-cause dementia. But there was no increased risk of dementia in people with hearing loss who did use hearing aids, reported Dongshan Zhu, a professor at Shandong University in China, reported in an article published April 13 in The Lancet.
‘Best evidence to date’
Previous studies have found links between hearing aid use and dementia risk. With a large sample size and long duration of follow-up, the current study “provides the best evidence to date to suggest that hearing aids could be a minimally invasive, cost-effective treatment to mitigate the potential impact of hearing loss on dementia,” he said.
Hearing aids are not widely used among people with hearing loss. In the U.K., for example, nearly four-fifths of people with hearing loss do not use hearing aids, Zhu reported. But the findings strongly suggest they should, he added. Hearing loss may begin early in one’s 40s, and there is evidence that a 20- to 25-year period of cognitive decline may precede a dementia diagnosis.
“Our findings highlight the urgent need for the early introduction of hearing aids when someone starts to experience hearing impairment,” he said.
Hearing aids in long-term care
In the United States, hearing aids have become more widely accessible since August of 2022, when the Food and Drug Administration established a new category of over-the-counter hearing aids that don’t require oversight by audiologists for purchase.
Whether this regulatory change will benefit nursing home residents isn’t clear. People who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, for example, are 41% less likely to use hearing care services and twice as likely to report having trouble hearing with their devices when compared to high-income Medicare beneficiaries, a 2019 study found.
An audiologist’s or hearing specialist’s care may be necessary to help optimize use and keep residents’ hearing aids from ending up in a drawer, that study’s authors suggested.
Related articles:
Hearing aid use linked to lower dementia prevalence, Medicare study finds
FDA approves over-the-counter hearing aids, no exams required
