Can Hearing Aids Reduce Risk for Dementia? If They Are Implemented Early, a New Study Suggests

Risk of dementia was more than 60% lower among adults aged 60 to 69 years with hearing loss who used hearing aids in the first study to highlight early intervention.

Adults with hearing loss who began using hearing aids before age 70 years had a markedly lower risk of developing dementia compared with those who did not use them, according to findings published in JAMA Neurology. The analysis showed that hearing aid users aged 60 to 69 years had a 61% lower risk of incident dementia over up to 20 years of follow-up than a comparison group that did not use the aids.1

In the August 18th research letter, lead author Lilly Francis, MBBS, MPhil, of the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and colleagues reported that individuals in their 60s without hearing loss also had a lower risk of dementia over the follow-up period of 29% compared with those who had compromised hearing but did not use a hearing aid.1

A population-based study published earlier this year found that 1 in 3 cases of dementia may be attributable to hearing loss.2 Led by Jason Smith, PhD, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in Baltimore, the research team wrote that “Interventions for sensory health in late life might be associated with a broad benefit for cognitive health.”2 Francis et al also cite studies whose findings suggest that hearing aids specifically may protect against development of dementia.3,4 They point out, however, that the current observational study is "the first to identify that reduced risk depends on early intervention for [hearing loss].

Data From Framingham Cohorts

The team evaluated 2,953 participants from the original and offspring cohorts of the Framingham Heart Study who were age 60 years or older at baseline and free of dementia. Participants underwent pure-tone audiometry between 1977–1979 and 1995–1998, and investigators tracked incident dementia for as long as 2 decades. Hearing loss was defined as a pure-tone average threshold of 26 dB or greater in the better ear. Incident dementia was diagnosed using DSM-5 criteria.

The study assessed 3 groups:

  • participants with hearing loss (HL) who did not use hearing aids
  • those with HL who did use hearing aids
  • those without HL

At baseline, the mean age of participants was 68.9 years and 59% were women. Overall, 583 individuals (20%) developed dementia during follow-up; 245 of these were younger than age 70 when hearing was assessed.

Findings and Implications for Risk Reduction

Compared with the HL group without hearing aids, individuals younger than 70 years with HL who used hearing aids had a significantly lower risk of dementia (HR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.17–0.89; P =.03). Participants without HL also showed a reduced risk (HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.54–0.95; P =.02). Francis et al found no association between use of hearing aids and incident dementia among participants aged 70 years and older. The relationship between hearing aid use and dementia was not diminished in participants aged 60 to 69 after adjusting for 10-year vascular risk and education level.

Francis and colleagues noted that only 17% of individuals with moderate to severe hearing loss use hearing aids. Identifying the potential impact of early adoption could strengthen the rationale for expanding screening and access, they said. In this study, protective association of hearing aid use was limited to participants younger than 70 years at the time of hearing assessment, suggesting that the timing of intervention may be critical.

Among the study's limitations the authors acknowledge reliance on a binary self-report of hearing aid use, inability to assess duration or consistency of use, and lack of socioeconomic data beyond education. Hearing aid users may also have had better access to health care, potentially confounding the results.

Nonetheless, they point to the study’s strengths, which included its large sample size, standardized audiometric testing, rigorous dementia adjudication, and long-term follow-up.


References
  1. Francis L, Seshadri S, Dillard LK, et al. Self-reported hearing aid use and risk of incident dementia. [Research letter]. JAMA Neurology. Published online August 18, 2025. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2025.2713
  2. Halsey G. One in three cases of dementia may be attributable to hearing loss. population-based study. Patient Care. April 22, 2025. https://www.patientcareonline.com/view/one-in-three-cases-of-dementia-may-be-attributable-to-hearing-loss-population-based-study
  3. Cantuaria ML, Pedersen ER, Waldorff FB, et al. Hearing loss, hearing aid use, and risk of dementia in older adults. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2024; 150(2):157-164. doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2023.3509
  4. Yeo BSY, Song HJJMD, Toh EMS, et al. Association of hearing aids and cochlear implants with cognitive decline and dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Neurol. 2023;80(2):134-141. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.4427