Hearing Aids Tied to Lower Dementia Risk Despite Limited Cognitive Gains
In a 7-year analysis of 2,777 Australians aged 70+ with moderate hearing loss, prescription of hearing aids did not meaningfully improve overall cognition scores, yet those with prescriptions had a lower risk of dementia (about 5% vs 7.5%) and cognitive impairment (roughly 36% vs 42%), with greater use linked to larger risk reductions. The authors caution that residual confounding could explain the results and call for longer-term randomized studies to clarify potential brain-health benefits of hearing aid use.
