People who are hard of hearing and do not have a hearing aid have a higher risk of dementia.
- Hearing impairment increases the risk of suffering from dementia.
- According to a study, wearing hearing aids would reduce this risk.
- The authors consider that there is an urgent need to equip people with hearing problems at an early stage.
More than 55 million people live with dementia worldwide, according to theWorld Health Organization. In 60 to 70% of cases, it is linked to Alzheimer’s disease, but other factors can explain its appearance. Hearing loss is one of the potential causes of dementia. But according to a new study, published in Tea Lancetwearing hearing aids would limit the risk of suffering from it.
Dementia: what is the impact of hearing disorders on the risk of being affected?
“There is growing evidence that demonstrates that hearing loss may be the most important modifiable risk factor for dementia in people in their 40s, but the effectiveness of hearing aid use in reducing the risk of dementia was not clear”, notes Professor Dongshan Zhu, one of the authors of this study. With his team, he analyzed data from more than 437,000 people to understand the effects of wearing hearing aids on the risk of dementia. “About three quarters of the participants had no hearing loss, and the remaining quarter had some level of hearing lossthey say. Of those with hearing loss, 11.7% used hearing aids.
According to their findings, people with hearing loss who did not use hearing aids had a 42% higher risk of suffering from dementia, compared to people without hearing problems. The researchers found no increased risk in people with hearing loss who used hearing aids. “This equates to approximately a 1.7% risk of dementia in people with hearing loss who do not use hearing aids, compared to 1.2% in people without hearing loss or who have hearing loss but use hearing aids “, they conclude. Their study failed to explain the effects of hearing aids on dementia, further research will be needed to understand them.
Hearing loss: using hearing aids to prevent dementia
For the authors, these first results mean in any case that hearing aids could become a potential treatment for dementia. “Hearing loss can begin in the early 40s, and there is evidence that progressive cognitive decline can last for 20-25 years, before diagnosis. precise Dongshan Zhu. Our findings underscore the urgent need for early introduction of hearing aids when a person begins to experience hearing loss.” For him, this will involve both better screening for hearing disorders and easier access to hearing aids. In France, since January 1, 2021, hearing aids, known as first category, are fully reimbursed by health insurance and complementary health insurance.
