Skip to main content

Hearing Loss Can Raise Risks for Cognitive Decline

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Oct 4, 2024.

By Carole Tanzer Miller HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Oct. 4, 2024 -- A new, large study from France underscores the link between adult hearing loss and dementia.

"Given the major burden of cognitive decline and the absence of curative treatment, identifying modifiable risk factors is of importance," a team led by Dr. Baptiste Grenier, of the Université Paris Cité, wrote Oct. 1 in the journal JAMA Network Open.

They said thinking skills may decline not only because people with hearing loss become socially isolated but also because they go for a long periods without auditory input.

In addition, hearing loss is linked to loss of volume in critical areas of the brain.

Even so, researchers said hearing aids for patients with disabling hearing loss should be prescribed based on potential benefit to quality of life and not to ease cognitive decline. For that, they wrote, more research is needed.

For the study, Grenier's team analyzed data from more than 62,000 people in France (average age: 57) recruited between January 2012 and December 2020. Participants age 45 and older underwent cognitive testing at the outset.

In all, 49% had normal hearing; 38% had mild hearing loss; and 10% had disabling hearing loss but did not use a hearing aid; 3% wore a hearing aid.

Participants took both hearing and cognitive tests.

In all, 27% of participants with mild hearing loss and 37% with disabling hearing loss had cognitive scores indicative of impairment. That compared to 16% of participants whose hearing was normal.

Researchers found no meaningful difference in the risk of cognitive impairment between individuals with disabling hearing loss who wore a hearing aid and those who did not.

A related analysis suggested that hearing aids may reduce the risk of cognitive impairment in people who have disabling hearing loss as well as depression.

Sources

  • American Psychiatric Association, news release, Oct. 2, 2024

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted October 2024

Read this next

Middle-Age Exercise Protects Brain Against Alzheimer's

FRIDAY, May 2, 2025 — Want to protect your aging brain? Get off the couch and get moving, researchers urge. Boosting exercise in middle age might help people prevent...

Biological Aging Increases Dementia Risk

THURSDAY, May 1, 2025 -- People whose bodies are aging faster could be more likely to develop dementia than those with normal or slower aging, a new study says. Folks with...

Most Americans Want Easy Early Testing For Alzheimer's

WEDNESDAY, April 30, 2025 -- Most Americans want to know if they’re destined to lose their brain power to Alzheimer’s disease, according to an annual report produced...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.