Hearing Loss One of the Most Treatable Risk Factors for Dementia

Of all the risk factors that contribute to dementia, hearing loss is one of the most treatable, according to a special report from AARP’s Global Council on Brain Health (GCBH).

While people can’t change risk factors such as their family history, genetics or early-life education, studies now suggest that wearing hearing aids can slow the rate of cognitive decline, the report notes. “Addressing a loss in hearing is a practical and achievable way for aging adults to reduce the risk of cognitive decline,” the report states.

Studies suggest it’s important to address hearing loss early.

“Greater levels of hearing loss are associated with increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia over time,” said Frank Lin, M.D., a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, who was interviewed for the special report.

He said it’s encouraging that studies show that people who use hearing aids “actually do somewhat better than people who don’t use hearing aids” in cognitive function.

Lin led a randomized, controlled trial of hearing aids that was published last year in The Lancet. He and his colleagues found that older people at risk of dementia who wore hearing aids experienced 48 percent less cognitive declineover three years than peers who did not, as measured by annual assessments.

While hearing aids won’t make people smarter, Lin said, “the goal is to maintain the function you have for as long as possible.”
Hearing loss contributes to about 8 percent of global dementia cases, according to a report published in 2020 from the Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention. Authors of that report singled out hearing loss as “the largest potentially modifiable risk factor” for dementia in the world.

A silent epidemic

Hearing loss is a common problem, especially as people age: 1 in 3 people age 65 to 74 has age-related hearing loss, along with 1 in 2 people age 75 and older, according to the report.

For more information on how to how hearing aids could help prevent dementia, from AARP, CLICK HERE.