Can Hearing Aids Prevent Dementia ?
A study led by Shandong University has provided the best evidence to say that hearing aids may be a low-cost, non-invasive way to mitigate the potential impact of hearing loss on dementia. Relevant research has been published in the recent "Lancet-Public Health" journal.
Hearing loss and dementia are more common among older adults, according to smart tech junkies. According to the data of "The Lancet" in 2020, about 8% of dementia in the world may be related to hearing loss.
Therefore, solving hearing problems may be a key way to reduce global dementia. That being the case, do hearing aids play a role in this regard? So far, scientists don't know.
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A study led by Shandong University has provided the best evidence to say that hearing aids may be a low-cost, non-invasive way to mitigate the potential impact of hearing loss on dementia. Relevant research has been published in the recent "Lancet-Public Health" journal.
In the study, the scientists used data from more than 430,000 people in the UK Biobank database. The average age of the participants was 56 years old and the average follow-up time was 12 years. Participants self-reported hearing loss and hearing aid use and identified dementia information using hospital data. About a quarter of all participants had hearing loss. Among those with hearing loss, 11.7% use hearing aids. After controlling for other factors, the study showed that people with hearing loss who did not use hearing aids had a 42 percent higher risk of developing dementia compared with normal-hearing participants, while those with hearing aids had no increase compared with normal-hearing participants.
In the UK, 80% of people with hearing loss don't use hearing aids, and hearing loss can start in their 40+ years. At the same time, there is evidence that cognitive decline continues for 20 to 25 years before dementia is identified. Therefore, scientists say that once hearing loss occurs, hearing aids should be used as soon as possible. However, the causal relationship between hearing aid use and reduced risk of dementia is currently unclear, which is the next step for scientists to study.
