3 minute read
people who lose their ability to hear may be at greater risk of suffering from dementia than those who do not, according to a new study that says this risk can be largely mitigated by using a hearing aid.
the observational study, which appears in the journal lancet public health , found that people who did not use hearing aids to help with their impairment faced a 1.7 per cent risk of dementia compared to the 1.2 per cent faced by those without hearing loss or those who used hearing aids to address the issue. with previous research linking hearing loss to roughly eight per cent of worldwide cases of dementia, tackling this impairment may be an effective way to decrease the global presence — and burden — of cognitive decline.
“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,” said dongshan zhu , corresponding author of the study from shandong university in china. “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.”
advertisement
the team reached its conclusions after examining health data from 437,704 people included in the uk biobank database . data on hearing loss and the use of hearing aids came from self-reported questionnaires and dementia diagnoses were found in the form of hospital records and death register data. the average age of participants at recruitment was 56 and the average follow-up period was 12 years.
according to researchers, this means those not using hearing aids to account for their impairment had a 1.7 per cent risk of experiencing dementia, compared to 1.2 per cent for those with no loss, or those who use hearing aids to account for their loss.
“close to four-fifths of people experiencing hearing loss do not use hearing aids in the uk, dongshan zhu said. “hearing loss may begin early in one’s 40s and there is evidence that gradual cognitive decline before a dementia diagnosis can last 20 to 25 years. our findings highlight the urgent need for the early introduction of hearing aids when someone starts to experience hearing impairment.”
advertisement
around 60 per cent of canadians between the ages of 19 and 79 have a hearing health problem, according to statistics canada, either audiometrically measured hearing loss (23 per cent), tinnitus (22 per cent) or both (14 per cent). many canadians between the ages of 40 and 79 aren’t even aware they have a problem.
advertisement
dave yasvinski is a writer with healthing.ca
