Hearing Loss May Be Linked to Alzheimer’s

Hearing Loss May Be Linked to Alzheimer’s Feb. 14, 2011 -- Older adults who experience hearing loss may be at increased risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. And the risk of dementia likely increases as hearing loss worsens.

Those are among the major findings of a new study aimed at addressing possible solutions to the exploding problem of dementia, which is estimated will afflict 100 million people worldwide by the year 2050.

The researchers say that interventions that could delay the onset of dementia by even one year could lead to a more than 10% decrease in its prevalence over the next 40 years.

But intensive research is needed to identify what these interventions could be, because currently, scientists have clues and conjectures but little hard evidence of possibly helpful interventions.

“Epidemiologic approaches have focused on the identification of putative risk factors that could be targeted for prevention, based on the assumption that dementia is easier to prevent than to reverse,” the researchers write. “Candidate factors include low involvement in leisure activities and social interactions, sedentary state, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension.”

Hearing loss is one reason for low involvement in leisure and social activities, as well as for a sedentary lifestyle.

Slideshow: When a Loved One Has Alzheimer's