Health
Hearing aids may lower dementia risk
For people with hearing loss, it has been suggested that using hearing aids may reduce the risk of dementia. Research published on April 13 lancet public health.
Researchers found that hearing-impaired people who did not use hearing aids were more likely to develop dementia than those with normal hearing, but no increased risk was observed in those who used hearing aids. It was not.
Evidence is building that hearing loss may be the most influential modifiable risk factor for middle-aged dementia, but hearing aid use reduces the risk of dementia in the real world. According to the lead author, the efficacy of Dr. Zhu Dongshana postdoctoral fellow at Shandong University, Jinan, China.
“Our study is the best yet, suggesting that hearing aids may be a minimally invasive and cost-effective treatment to mitigate the potential impact of hearing loss on dementia. We provide evidence of,” said Dr. Zhu.
Relationship between hearing loss and dementia
About one in three people in the United States between the ages of 65 and 74 have hearing loss, and almost half of people over the age of 75 have hearing loss, according to the WHO. National Institute on Hearing Loss and Other Communication Disorders.
“There is consistent evidence across population-based studies for a strong link with hearing loss, accelerated cognitive decline, and dementia, which affects millions of Americans,” they said. Alison R. Huang, PhD, MPHHe is an epidemiology researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, studying the effects of sensory deprivation on cognitive and mental health in older adults. Dr. Huang was not involved in this research.
Huang says there are three main mechanisms that could explain why hearing loss may be associated with dementia.
“First, with hearing loss, speech and sounds are garbled by the time they reach the brain, so the brain has to put in extra effort to process and decipher this speech and sounds,” she says. says. As a result, the brain has fewer resources for activities such as memory and executive function, which can ultimately lead to cognitive impairment, Huang says.
When a person has hearing loss, parts of the brain that are stimulated by speech and sounds become unstimulated, which can lead to atrophy and changes in brain structure and function, she says.
“Finally, hearing loss can make communicating with others more difficult and can lead to social isolation, another risk factor for dementia,” Huang says.
Hearing-impaired people who do not use hearing aids are more likely to develop dementia
Researchers used data from over 430,000 people who are part of the U. Biobank database. Hearing loss and hearing aid use were collected on a self-reported questionnaire, and a diagnosis of dementia was determined using hospital records and death record data.
The average age of participants at study initiation was 56 years and the average follow-up was 12 years. About 75% of the participants had no hearing loss and the remaining 25% of him had some degree of hearing loss.
Only 1 in 8 people with hearing loss used hearing aids.The researchers controlled for several factors that could influence dementia risk Including education, ethnicity, income level, alcohol use, depression, social isolation, and some chronic illnesses.
Compared to participants with normal hearing, hearing loss without hearing aids had a 42% higher risk of all-cause dementia, whereas hearing loss with hearing aids did not show an increased risk. I couldn’t get it.
The overall risk of developing dementia remained relatively low: the absolute risk of dementia in hearing-impaired people without hearing aids was 1.7% compared to those without hearing loss or hearing loss with hearing aids. The absolute risk was 1.2%. hearing aid.
People who use hearing aids may have other healthy behaviors
Huang said the study’s strengths lie in its large sample size and its longitudinal design (surveying a specific variable, in this case dementia, over several years). “While the authors’ findings on hearing aid use and dementia risk are encouraging, it remains to be worked out whether what we are seeing is due to the hearing aid itself or to other factors. It’s difficult,” she says.
Participants who self-reported hearing loss in this cohort had a low rate of hearing aid use (12%) and, as the authors noted, access to other health promotions, such as access to medical resources related to relieving dementia. may be related to the factors There are risks,” she says Huang.
Zhu said that while the study controlled for many factors, there may be unmeasured factors and that people who used hearing aids were more concerned about their health than those who did not. I agree that they may be giving away.
About one in five Americans who benefit from a hearing aid (20%) use a hearing aid, according to the WHO. American Hearing Loss Association.
Randomized controlled trials needed to confirm findings
These findings are promising and consistent with recent results. Meta-analysis published in late 2022 Department of Neurology, JAMA We observed a lower risk of cognitive decline in older people with hearing loss who use hearing aids, Huang said, adding, “But more research is needed, especially from randomized controlled trials.” .
The study authors agree that these types of trials are needed to confirm the observed association between hearing aid use and dementia risk. , and the association between hearing loss and dementia may be due to reverse causation through neurodegeneration or other shared mechanisms,” said Zhu.
Findings are also limited by a lack of diversity, the authors write. His 95% of UK Biobank participants are white. magazine articleand few participants had or experienced hearing impairment prior to acquiring spoken language.
Expert Advice on Hearing Tests and Hearing Aids: Can They Help Prevent Dementia?
“Changes in our hearing progress over time so slowly that many people may not even realize they have a hearing problem without having a hearing test. Getting tested is certainly reasonable, and this is what you get by seeing an audiologist,” Huang says. She adds that referrals may or may not be required.
Alternatively, you can self-test your hearing using your compatible smartphone. “a website created by us and Johns Hopkins Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health I explain to people how to do this,” she says.
Regarding whether people with hearing loss should use hearing aids to reduce the risk of dementia, to definitively determine whether hearing aid use may reduce the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. In addition, more research from randomized trials is needed, Huang said.
The work is ACHIEVE (Aging and Cognitive Health Assessment for Older Adults)The study is funded by the National Institute on Aging, she says. They were randomly assigned to receive one of the healthy anti-aging educational interventions and followed for 3 years.
“This trial will give us a clearer sense of whether treatments for hearing loss can actually slow cognitive decline. The results of this trial are expected later this year,” said Huang. says.
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