A 2023 study of 2,400 Medicare beneficiaries found that hearing aid use correlated with less cognitive decline in hard-of-hearing seniors at high risk of dementia.
Study Details
The Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) study followed adults aged 70–84 with untreated mild to moderate hearing loss who had no substantial cognitive issues.
Study participants came from two sources: 1) those enrolled in a long-standing observational study of heart health (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities [ARIC] study) and 2) healthy community volunteers.
For three years, participants received either 1) a hearing intervention, which included hearing aids, a hearing self-management toolkit and counseling from an audiologist or 2) a control intervention of individual health education sessions.
While the hearing intervention did not reduce cognitive decline in the total population, the method appeared to slow cognitive decline for those in the ARIC subgroup. Individuals in the ARIC subgroup had a higher prevalence of risk factors associated with cognitive decline.
These findings suggest that a hearing intervention might reduce cognitive change over three years in populations of older adults at increased risk for cognitive decline, but not in populations at decreased risk for cognitive decline.
“Hearing loss is very treatable in later life, which makes it an important public health target to reduce risk of cognitive decline and dementia,” said Frank Lin, M.D., Ph.D., and co-principal investigator of the ACHIEVE study.
“Until we know more,” Lin added, “we recommend for general health and well-being that older adults have their hearing checked regularly and any hearing issues properly addressed.”
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