Middle-Age Hearing Loss Linked to Dementia

A study in Taiwan published in JAMA Network Open suggested hearing loss in middle age is linked to cognitive decline and dementia in later years, reports Reuters Health . Researchers monitored more than 16,000 men and women, and found that a new diagnosis of hearing loss between 45 and 65 more than doubled the odds of a dementia diagnosis in the next 12 years. National Taiwan Normal University's Charles Tzu-Chi Lee said previous research suggested about 66 percent of the risk for dementia is hereditary or genetic, making approximately 33 percent attributable to modifiable factors like hearing loss. "The present study suggests that screening for hearing loss should be performed when people are middle aged," Lee said. The authors noted future studies will explore whether treatment of hearing loss can reduce the risk of dementia.