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A study conducted by Keck Medicine of USC (USA) shows that adults who suffer from hearing loss and regularly wear hearing aids have a 24% lower risk of death than those who never use them. This finding suggests that hearing aids may extend life and play a protective role in health.
The study was published in The lancet for healthy longevity.
Previous research has shown that untreated hearing loss can lead to reduced life expectancy as well as other negative consequences such as social isolation, depression and dementia. However, to date there has been very little research into the use of hearing aids to reduce the risk of death.
The study represents the most comprehensive analysis to date of the relationship between hearing loss, hearing aid use and mortality in the United States, Medical Xpress notes.
Hearing aids could extend life
The study’s lead researcher, Janet Choi, says the results suggest that hearing aids could play a protective role in people’s health and that hearing aids could extend life by preventing premature death.
The study used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2012 to identify nearly 10,000 adults ages 20 and older who completed audiometric assessments and provided information about hearing aid use.
The study results showed a nearly 25 percent difference in mortality risk between those who use hearing aids regularly and those who don’t use them at all, regardless of variables such as degree of hearing loss, age, ethnicity, income, education and other demographics.
The importance of hearing health care
The study showed no difference in mortality risk between users who do not use hearing aids regularly and those who never use them, suggesting that occasional hearing aid use may not provide life-extending benefits.
Choi hopes this study will encourage more people to use hearing aids, but acknowledges that factors such as cost, stigma and the difficulty of finding suitable and well-functioning devices present barriers to their use.
The researcher is working on an artificial intelligence-based system to categorize and tailor the selection of hearing aids to patients’ individual needs. She also advocates for larger studies to better understand the connection between regular hearing aid use and a lower risk of mortality and to promote hearing care.
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