Loneliness as a Pathway Linking Hearing Decline to Cognitive Aging: Longitudinal and Genetic Evidence

Age-related hearing loss is linked to loneliness and poorer cognitive health, but it remains unclear whether loneliness helps explain associations between hearing difficulties and cognitive performance or dementia, and whether these patterns reflect causal pathways or shared underlying liability....

✦ Clinical Takeaway ✦

While causality is not yet established, this longitudinal and genetic evidence strengthens the case for audiologists to screen for social isolation and loneliness in patients with age-related hearing loss, given the potential downstream cognitive risks.

✦ Why It Matters ✦

If loneliness is confirmed as a key mediator between hearing decline and cognitive aging, interventions addressing social connection — alongside hearing rehabilitation — could become a core strategy in dementia prevention.

✦ Key Points ✦

01Loneliness is proposed as a mediating pathway linking age-related hearing decline to cognitive aging outcomes.

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Loneliness as a Pathway Linking Hearing Decline to Cognitive Aging: Longitudinal and Genetic Evidence

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