I guess I'm OK, then.
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Hearing Aids a 'Powerful' Tool for Reducing Dementia Risk
Untreated hearing loss increases dementia risk in middle-aged and older adults, new research confirms.
A large observational study from the United Kingdom showed a 42% increased risk for dementia in people with hearing loss compared with their peers with no hearing trouble. In addition, there was no increased risk in those with hearing loss who used hearing aids.
"The evidence is building that hearing loss may be the most impactful modifiable risk factor for dementia in mid-life, but the effectiveness of hearing aid use on reducing the risk of dementia in the real world has remained unclear," Dongshan Zhu, PhD, with Shandong University, Jinan, China, said in a news release.
"Our 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," Zhu said.
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he study which was published online April 13 in Lancet Public Health, comes on the heels of the 2020 Lancet Commission report on dementia, which suggested hearing loss may be linked to approximately 8% of worldwide dementia cases, as reported by Medscape Medical News.
'Compelling' EvidenceFor the study, investigators analyzed longitudinal data on 437,704 individuals, most of whom were White, from the UK Biobank (54% female; mean age at baseline, 56 years).
Roughly three quarters of the cohort had no hearing loss and one quarter had some level of hearing loss, with 12% of these individuals using hearing aids.
After controlling for relevant co-factors, compared with people without hearing loss, those with hearing loss who were not using hearing aids had an increased risk for all-cause dementia (hazard ratio [HR], 1.42; 95% CI, 1.29-1.56).
No increased risk was seen in people with hearing loss who were using hearing aids (HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.98-1.10).
The positive association of hearing aid use was observed in all-cause dementia and cause-specific dementia subtypes, including Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, and non–Alzheimer's disease nonvascular dementia.
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I think that makes sense.
