Among those younger than 70 years at the time of HL diagnosis, risk for incident dementia was 61 percent lower for those with hearing aids<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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WEDNESDAY, Aug. 20, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Adults with hearing loss (HL) with hearing aids have a reduced risk for dementia, according to a research letter published online Aug. 18 in JAMA Neurology<\/em>.<\/p>\n Lily Francis, M.B.B.S., from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and colleagues conducted a prospective association study to examine whether hearing aid use by people with HL is associated with a lower risk for incident dementia in the Framingham Heart Study original and offspring cohorts. Participants without dementia aged 60 years or older who underwent pure-tone audiometry were subsequently followed for up to 20 years for incident dementia.<\/p>\n The researchers found that 20 percent of the 2,953 participants followed for up to two decades developed incident all-cause dementia; 42 percent of these participants were younger than 70 years at hearing assessment. Among those younger than 70 years at HL diagnosis, participants with HL using hearing aids had a significantly lower risk for incident all-cause dementia than those with HL who were not using hearing aids (hazard ratio, 0.39); participants with no HL had a significantly lower risk for incident all-cause dementia (hazard ratio, 0.71). In people aged 70 years or older, there was no association between hearing aid use and incident dementia.<\/p>\n “This finding highlights the importance of early intervention for HL for possible prevention of dementia,” the authors write.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n