Staying Healthy
Hearing aid use linked to longer life
News briefs
- Reviewed by Anthony L. Komaroff, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Health Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
Hearing loss is a known risk factor for premature death. So will using hearing aids improve your longevity? Previous studies on the subject have been mixed. But new evidence published in the January 2024 issue of The Lancet Healthy Longevity offers hope. Researchers evaluated the hearing test results and questionnaire answers of almost 9,900 people (average age about 49 when the study began) who were followed for more than 10 years. After adjustments for participants' age, race, gender, level of hearing loss, medical history, socioeconomic status, other medical conditions, and type of insurance, the risk of premature death was 24% lower among people who used hearing aids regularly, compared with people who never used hearing aids. The study was observational and doesn't prove definitively that hearing aids protect people from early death; we'll need more evidence for that. However, we know that hearing aids can help people hear conversations again, which may help ward off loneliness and social isolation — two risk factors for many chronic diseases (including dementia) and early death. If you haven't been hearing as well lately (or at least, if that's what your family is telling you), it's best not to put off a hearing test.
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About the Author
Heidi Godman, Executive Editor, Harvard Health Letter
About the Reviewer
Anthony L. Komaroff, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Health Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
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