Hearing Loss Increases the Risk of Dementia in Older Adults

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Highlights:

• Hearing loss is a source of frustration for both people who suffer from it and their loved ones
• New research from Johns Hopkins University suggests that it is also linked to dementia
• Mild hearing loss doubled the chance of dementia. People with moderate hearing loss were three times more likely to acquire dementia, while those with severe hearing loss were five times more probable

Older persons with more severe hearing loss were more likely to develop dementia, but the incidence of dementia was decreased among hearing aid users compared to non-users, suggested a new study led by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers.

Does Hearing Loss Cause Dementia

The findings, based on a nationally representative sample of over 2,400 older persons, are consistent with previous research suggesting that hearing loss may be a contributing factor to dementia risk over time and that correcting hearing loss may reduce dementia risk.

‘Hearing loss accounts for 8% of all dementia cases worldwide, making it the most important modifiable risk factor for dementia at the population level.’

The findings are highlighted in a research letter published online in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Need to Improve Hearing Care Access

"This study refines what we've observed about the link between hearing loss and dementia, and builds support for public health action to improve hearing care access," says lead author Alison Huang, PhD, MPH, a senior research associate in the Bloomberg School's Department of Epidemiology and at the Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health, also at the Bloomberg School.

How Common is Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is a major public health concern that affects two-thirds of Americans over the age of 70. The growing realization that hearing loss may be linked to the risk of dementia, which affects millions of people, and other negative outcomes has heightened interest in implementing potential hearing loss treatment options.

Huang and colleagues examined a nationally representative dataset from the National Health and Aging Trends Study for the new study (NHATS). The National Institute on Aging-funded NHATS has been running since 2011, and it uses a nationwide sample of Medicare users over the age of 65, with a concentration on those aged 90 and over, as well as Black people.

Hearing Loss Severity Linked to Dementia

The study included 2,413 people, over half of whom were above the age of 80, and found a link between hearing loss severity and dementia. The prevalence of dementia was 61% greater in persons with moderate/severe hearing loss than in participants with normal hearing. In the 853 people with moderate/severe hearing loss, using hearing aids was related to a 32% decreased prevalence of dementia.

Many previous studies were constrained in that they depended on in-clinic data gathering, leaving out disadvantaged people who did not have the means or capacity to travel to a clinic, according to the authors. The researchers acquired data from participants for their study through in-home testing and interviews.

The exact process through which hearing loss is linked to dementia is unknown, but research hint at various possibilities. Huang's study adds to the Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health's corpus of work on the association between hearing loss and dementia.

The authors of the study anticipate that their Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) Study will provide a more complete picture of the effect of hearing loss treatment on cognition and dementia. The three-year randomized trial findings are expected this year.

"Hearing loss and dementia prevalence in older adults in the United States" was co-authored by Alison Huang, Kening Jiang, Frank Lin, Jennifer Deal, and Nicholas Reed.

Source: Medindia

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