CHOICE trial finds hearing aids don’t halt dementia, but cognitive gains emerge

Despite a negative outcome on dementia, there was a “significant and impressive difference in the rate of cognitive improvement,” in hearing aid wearers. Image: Ekaitz/stock.adobe.com. A new trial has found that hearing aids did not significantly reduce the incidence of ‘dementia-level impairment’ in adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) over two years, but users were almost six times more likely to show...

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✦ The floor

Discussion

Signed responses from readers of the wire.

✦ Clinical Takeaway ✦

Hearing aids should not be promoted as a dementia-prevention tool based on this trial, but the secondary finding of cognitive improvement in hearing aid users warrants attention and may support existing counselling around broader brain health benefits of hearing treatment.

✦ Why It Matters ✦

The CHOICE trial is one of the most direct tests of whether hearing aids can prevent dementia, and its mixed results meaningfully refine the clinical narrative audiologists use when discussing hearing treatment and brain health with patients.

✦ Key Points ✦

01CHOICE trial found hearing aids did not significantly reduce dementia incidence compared to controls.
02Hearing aid users showed a significant improvement in cognitive (thinking and memory) scores versus controls.
03Results distinguish between dementia prevention (not supported) and cognitive benefit (supported).
04Findings challenge blanket claims that hearing aids prevent dementia but still support brain-health counselling.
05The cognitive improvement signal adds weight to earlier observational evidence linking hearing treatment to better mental function.

✦ Claims & Evidence ✦

ClaimEvidenceSupport

Hearing aids did not significantly reduce dementia incidence in the CHOICE trial.

studysupported

Hearing aid wearers showed a significant and impressive rate of cognitive improvement compared to controls.

studysupported

✦ Research metadata ✦

Publication type: research_article
Evidence level: 1b
Population: Adults at risk of or monitored for dementia, randomised to hearing aid use or control condition
Intervention: Hearing aid fitting and use
Comparator: Control group (no hearing aids / usual care)

Primary outcomes

Dementia incidence; Cognitive function scores

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