Hearing aids and dementia
The onset of dementia in people with a hearing loss could be delayed by up to 5 years if hearing aids are worn.
A recent study was carried out of 2,114 patients over the age of 50 with a hearing impairment. They found a third who wore hearing aids had not developed dementia five years after their mild cognitive impairment, or MCI* diagnosis.
This figure was only a fifth for those who did not wear hearing aids.
The experts said their findings were an ‘important first step’ to encourage those, with a hearing loss at risk of dementia, to wear hearing aids.
Interestingly the use of hearing aids was linked with a two-year slower conversion to dementia which would have substantial economic and societal effects.