Given the inconsistent evidence regarding hearing aid use and reduced dementia risk, this study evaluates whether hearing aid use, particularly effective use, is associated with lower probable dementia risk among hearing-impaired older adults....
Audiologists should continue counselling patients with hearing loss about consistent hearing aid use, as this large pooled international analysis adds meaningful weight to the evidence linking effective hearing aid use to reduced dementia risk — though causality is not yet established.
With dementia prevention now a global public health priority, a pooled multi-cohort analysis spanning 33 countries substantially strengthens the case that hearing rehabilitation may be a modifiable risk factor for dementia.
- 01Pooled analysis of 7 cohorts across 33 countries — one of the largest international datasets on this question.
- 02Effective hearing aid use (not just ownership) was associated with lower probability of probable dementia.
- 03Findings held across geographically and demographically diverse populations, supporting generalisability.
- 04Study design is observational; association does not prove hearing aids directly prevent dementia.
- 05Results align with the 2024 Lancet Commission identifying hearing loss as a leading modifiable dementia risk factor.
Hearing aid use, particularly effective use, is associated with reduced probability of dementia risk across diverse international populations.
studypartially supportedThe association between hearing aid effectiveness and dementia risk reduction is consistent across 33 countries.
studysupported- PMID
- 42127901
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.xcrm.2026.102802.
- Journal
- Cell Reports Medicine
- Publication type
- meta_analysis
- Evidence level
- 2a
- Population
- Adults with hearing loss from seven international cohort studies across 33 countries
- Intervention
- Hearing aid use (with sub-analysis of effective use)
- Comparator
- No hearing aid use
Primary outcomes
Probability of probable dementia diagnosis