Hearing aids can slow the onset of senile dementia

Scientists have found that there is a correlation between hearing aid use and the risk of developing senile dementia. They found that using hearing aids also improved overall brain health. It might not seem like there should be a link, but a study of 100,000 people with hearing loss strongly suggests there is.

Previous scientific work has proven a decline in the brain’s cognitive functions when hearing begins to dull. Smaller impairments increased the likelihood of signs of dementia within 10 years, while more serious ones increased the risks fivefold. It has also been shown that hearing loss can precede mental decline.

Science believed that both the first and the second phenomenon were caused by common neurodegenerative processes. However, research findings suggest otherwise. Hearing aids were found to increase cognitive abilities by 3% in the short term and to decrease the degree of cognitive decline by 19% in the long term.

Therefore, devices that compensate for hearing loss can at least slow the progression of dementia, if not prevent it. This is due to the increased cognitive load of partial hearing loss, the elimination of sensory deficits when brain regions responsible for hearing continue to function – and less social isolation.