Lowering the risk of dementia: Researchers show how well this works with a hearing aid

Hearing aids can prevent dementia in many older people. An international team of researchers found this with a study published in the journal “The Lancet Public Health‘ very clearly underpinned by the study presented. Accordingly, people with hearing loss without a hearing aid had a 42 percent increased risk of developing dementia. On the other hand, if the hard of hearing wore a hearing aid, the risk was the same as that of people with normal hearing, according to Dongshan Zhu’s team from Shandong University in Jinan, China.

It analyzed data from 437,704 people aged 40 to 69 who reported on their hearing ability, all of whom did not initially have dementia. The mean time until the check-up was around twelve years on average.

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Study proves how well hearing aids work

It has long been known that age-related hearing loss significantly increases the risk of dementia. “When the sensory organs weaken, the risk of dementia also increases,” agrees Peter Berlit, neurologist and Secretary General of the German Society of Neurology (DGN). According to the DGN, around 50 million people worldwide have dementia, 1.6 million of them in Germany alone.

So far, it has not been clearly proven that correcting hearing problems with hearing aids can make a significant contribution to preventing dementia. “This study actually shows that very nicely,” said Berlit. It is therefore particularly advisable to counteract this as early as possible.

“The underlying associations between hearing aid use and a lower risk of dementia are unclear,” said co-author Fan Jiang, also from Shandong University, according to a statement by the journal. Further research is required.

Many people still shy away from hearing aids

It is interesting that glasses are generally accepted and used regularly in old age, said Berlit. “So far, this has not been the case enough with hearing aids.” Hearing impairments are noticed more often by people in the immediate vicinity than by those affected themselves. Older people, on the other hand, quickly notice poorer reading.

Relatively typical of age-related hearing loss is “that it becomes difficult above all when there is a certain background noise, then those affected have difficulty following a conversation that is ongoing or understanding sentences addressed to them,” explained Berlit.

How to recognize hearing loss

For people in the environment, however, there are signs that can be observed: “A typical situation would be on a Sunday at lunchtime, when everyone comes together and grandma and grandpa are there too. You talk and then realize that your grandfather no longer notices what is being talked about at the table,” Berlit said.

Then you should recommend him to have his hearing checked. “They will then say: ‘I can hear everything if I listen carefully.’ But when several people speak, he can no longer hear what was spoken to him.” That is a typical, early sign that something is wrong.