Hearing Loss Is a Known Risk Factor for Dementia
In 2024, the Lancet Commission on dementia, a group of leading experts reporting in the medical journal The Lancet, listed 14 risk factors for dementia that people may be able to change, and hearing loss is one of them. The Commission estimated that hearing loss accounts for about 7% of dementia cases worldwide, tied for the largest share of any single factor. It's important to read that carefully: a risk factor is not a guarantee, and the Commission itself noted that some of these links may be only partly causal. For the bigger picture, see our guide to hearing and brain health.
Why Might Hearing Affect the Brain?
Researchers are still working this out, but the ACHIEVE team has described three leading ideas:
Your brain works harder. Decoding unclear sound takes extra effort, which may leave less for thinking and memory.
Less sound, less stimulation. A 2014 Johns Hopkins study in NeuroImage (Lin et al.) found faster brain shrinkage over time in older adults with hearing loss, especially in areas that process sound and speech.
Pulling back from people. When conversations get hard, many people go out less, and social isolation is a risk factor in its own right.
What the ACHIEVE Study Found
This is the big question: if you treat hearing loss, does it help protect thinking and memory? In 2023, a major study published in The Lancet took it on. It's called the ACHIEVE study, and it was one of the first large randomized trials to test this question.
Researchers followed 977 adults ages 70 to 84 with untreated hearing loss for three years. About half received hearing aids plus support from audiologists. The other half received health education on healthy aging.
Here's what they found:
For the whole group, hearing aids did not slow thinking decline over the three years compared to the health education group.
But for people at higher risk (older adults from a long-running heart health study who had more risk factors for cognitive decline), the hearing intervention slowed the decline in thinking skills by 48% over three years.
So the honest takeaway is this: treating hearing loss is not a magic shield against dementia, and it won't reverse memory problems. But for some people, especially those already at higher risk, it may help protect thinking skills over time. The researchers themselves said the benefits likely vary from person to person, and they're continuing to follow participants to look at longer-term effects.
Why the Type of Care Mattered
One detail often gets lost in the headlines. People in the ACHIEVE hearing group didn't just receive a device. They got hearing aids along with professional fitting, coaching on how to use them, and follow-up visits over time.
That's the kind of care our practice is built around. At every fitting, we use real-ear measurement, a tiny microphone in your ear that shows exactly what your hearing aids are delivering, so we can fine-tune them to proven targets. Follow-up visits help as your brain adjusts, and LACE auditory training helps you get back in practice understanding speech.
What This Means for You and Your Family
We'll never promise that hearing aids will prevent dementia. No one honestly can. What we can tell you is that hearing well helps you stay in the conversation: with your spouse, your grandkids, your friends, and your community. That matters for quality of life, no matter what the research shows next.
If you've been putting off a hearing test, this is a good reason to get a baseline. And if you're worried about memory, talk with your doctor, too. With your permission, we're happy to send your hearing results to your physician in Henderson or anywhere in the Las Vegas valley, so your care team has the full picture.
Worried about a parent who won't get tested? Here's how to help a loved one in denial about hearing loss.
A hearing test at our office is $45, or $0 with a doctor's referral. Call (702) 456-1110 or book a hearing test online.
Sources
Livingston G, et al. "Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet standing Commission." The Lancet, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(24)01296-0
Lin FR, et al. "Hearing intervention versus health education control to reduce cognitive decline in older adults with hearing loss in the USA (ACHIEVE): a multicentre, randomised controlled trial." The Lancet, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01406-X
ACHIEVE Study, "Key Findings." https://achievestudy.org/key-findings
Lin FR, et al. "Association of hearing impairment with brain volume changes in older adults." NeuroImage, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.12.059
