Hearing aid use linked to lower risks of dementia, depression and falls

Use of hearing aids was linked with lower risks of being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, dementia, depression, anxiety, and injurious falls in an analysis of medical information on 114,862 older adults with hearing loss. The findings are published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

The risk of being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease/dementia, anxiety/depression, and injurious falls within three years after being diagnosed with hearing loss was 18%, 11%, and 13% lower, respectively, for those who used hearing aids versus those who did not.

"Although we have shown an association between use of hearing aids and reduced risk of physical and mental decline, randomized trials are needed to determine whether, and to what extent, the relationship is causal," the authors wrote.