According to a study, wearing a hearing aid reduces the risk of dementia in people who are hard of hearing.
In a study published today in the Lancet, rResearchers looked at health data from hundreds of thousands of people with varying degrees of hearing loss.
The results showed that those who did not use hearing aids had a 42 percent higher risk of developing dementia over 12 years than those who used the device.
The study’s lead author, Professor Dongshan Zhu of Shandong University, said: “Our study provides the best evidence yet that hearing aids can be a minimally invasive, cost-effective treatment to reduce the potential impact of hearing loss on dementia.”
After accounting for other factors, the study suggests that compared to participants with normal hearing, those with hearing loss who did not wear hearing aids had a 42 percent greater risk of developing dementia from any cause, while no increased risk found in those with hearing. loss. Loss with use of hearing aids
It is believed that wearing a hearing aid can mitigate some of the adverse effects of hearing loss on cognitive function. It is believed that hearing loss causes the brain to shrink faster.
However, the international team of researchers from China, Australia, Japan, Texas, Pakistan and the UK said the true benefit of wearing a hearing aid to protect against dementia was unclear.
They suggested the possibility that wearing a hearing aid could slow cognitive decline by preventing the brain from working overtime in other areas to distinguish incoming distorted sounds.
Known as cognitive overload, this hypothesis states that the brains of adults with hearing loss have to work harder to understand the same information as people with average hearing, which can tax the brain so much that it cannot perform other functions. .
One important caveat about the new study, however, is that the researchers collected information on hearing aid use among all study participants after 2009. But before 2009, they only collected this information from people with hearing problems.
People who did not report hearing problems before 2009 may have done so because they used hearing aids, suggesting that the benefits of using a hearing aid to protect against dementia may be underestimated.
The Chinese team’s research drew on data from more than 500,000 volunteers aged 40 to 69 stored in the UK Biobank, a database containing detailed genetic and health information about people living there, as part of a long-term study which examine genetics and environmental factors. contribute to the development of the disease.
In the end, the study contained data from just over 437,700 people with an average age of 56 at baseline – the people were followed for about 12 years.
None of them had dementia at first. Participants answered questions about their hearing health, such as: B. “Do you often use a hearing aid?”. and ‘Have you heard any problems with you?’ with optional answers of “yes”, “no” or “I am completely deaf”.
Dementia diagnosis was made using hospital records and death register data from the National Health Service in England.
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Hearing loss in middle age can increase the risk of later dementia by up to 40 percent. In addition, if all hearing losses were treated promptly, almost one in ten cases of dementia could be eradicated.
People with hearing loss who did not wear a hearing aid had a 1.7 percent risk of developing dementia, compared to a 1.2 percent risk for people without hearing problems or who did but wear hearing aids.
Prof. Zhu said: “Our findings underscore the urgent need for early introduction of hearing aids when someone develops hearing impairment.
“A community-wide effort is needed, including raising awareness of hearing loss and its potential links to dementia, increasing access to hearing aids through lower costs, and increasing support for frontline healthcare professionals to screen for hearing loss, awareness to increase and treatments such as hearing aids fit.”
While the team’s findings suggest a potential benefit of fitting hearing aids to middle-aged and older adults to reduce dementia risk, they acknowledge that the “effectiveness of hearing aid use in reducing dementia risk remains to be seen in a real-world context.” not clear.’
Hearing loss becomes more common with age, as does the risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, which accounts for 60 to 80 percent of all cases.
An estimated 5.8 million people in the US have Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, including 5.6 million ages 65 and older and about 200,000 under 65 years of age with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. About 55 million people worldwide suffer from dementia, a number expected to rise to 150 million by 2050.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
