Is Bad Hearing a Risk Factor for Dementia?

Older adults with hearing loss may be at higher risk for dementia. According to a new study published in the Archives of Neurology, hearing loss and dementia are linked and the risk of dementia rises more with greater degrees of hearing loss.

Is Bad Hearing a Risk Factor for Dementia?

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical School tested the hearing of 639 middle aged and older individuals and measured their cognitive skills over a four year period. After following these individuals for eighteen years, they discovered that those who couldn't hear sounds less than 25 decibels, equivalent to a mild hearing impairment, had a greater risk of dementia and the risk rose even more for those with more profound hearing problems.

Why Would Decreased Hearing Be Associated with Dementia?

Researchers aren't sure whether both conditions have a similar mechanism or whether it's a matter of over-diagnosis. People with hearing loss are more likely to be diagnosed with dementia and vice versa. It's also possible that social isolation due to hearing loss worsens the symptoms of dementia.

Hearing loss can be caused by damage to nerve cells that carry sound messages to the brain, which could also be a marker for injury to neurons in the brain that could cause symptoms of dementia. No one knows exactly how the two conditions are related. Unfortunately, both are common in the elderly population.

If it's true that hearing loss worsens the symptoms of dementia, it's possible that giving older people with dementia a hearing aid could slow down the progression of the their dementia symptoms. This is why it's important to find out the exact relationship between these two conditions.

Bad Hearing and the Risk of Dementia: The Bottom Line?

No one knows exactly how these two conditions relate to one another, but this study makes it all the more important that suspected hearing loss be evaluated promptly and corrected through surgery or use of a hearing aid. If hearing loss does contribute to the symptoms of dementia, it's critical that the hearing problem be promptly treated.

References:

Medical News Today. "Hearing Loss Associated with Development of Dementia"