Dementia is a highly prevalent and potentially devastating disease that has been the subject of considerable attention from public health researchers.
Given the multifaceted nature of its development and the lack of effective medical therapies, a common public health strategy for addressing this disease is to focus on its modifiable risk factors. Hearing loss is one such risk factor.
A new review has examined the role of hearing rehabilitation in modifying the association between hearing loss and cognitive impairment.
This review discusses the role of hearing loss as a modifiable risk factor for cognitive impairment/dementia, proposed causal mechanisms between hearing loss and cognitive impairment, and studies at multiple levels of evidence examining the role of hearing rehabilitation in mitigating the association between hearing loss and cognitive impairment.
Although more randomised controlled trials of hearing aid use are required to clarify whether hearing aid use lessens cognitive impairment, the researchers recommend hearing aid use as one measure to potentially lower the risk of cognitive impairment/dementia development or progression in at-risk populations.
From Springer Link.