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Hearing loss raises risk of dementia

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People who are hard of hearing have increased odds of developing dementia as they age, according to a U.S. study.

Scientists found those with mild hearing loss had nearly twice the chance of developing dementia compared to people with normal hearing, even after ruling out the influence of age and other factors.

The risk increased three-fold for those with moderate hearing loss, and five-fold for severe impairment.

However, scientists are not sure whether hearing loss and a decline in mental function go hand in hand, or whether deafness isolates a person, which in turn increases their risk of dementia.

The study led by Johns Hopkins University surgeon Frank Lin, followed more than 600 men and women aged 36 to 90 over an average of 12 years.

All had a hearing test done at the start of the study, but none had dementia at that point.

Overall, nine per cent of the participants developed some kind of dementia during the study, which was published in the Archives of Neurology, most commonly Alzheimer’s disease.

Hearing loss

Hearing loss

Colleagues showed that the worse the participants’ hearing, the greater their dementia risk.

Dr Lin said: ‘Does it mean you will develop dementia if your hearing is impaired? Absolutely not. But is your risk increased? You betcha.’

He noted that the reasons for the link are unclear, saying there were three possibilities, such as hearing loss and dementia sharing a common, unknown cause.

A different possibility is that elderly people who are hard of hearing may have extra difficulties coping with declining mental function, or that the social isolation and loneliness caused by declining hearing could also fuel the dementia.


Should these last two be the case, Dr Lin added, there could be a significant impact on public health and healthcare spending.

According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, 17 per cent of U.S. adults have some degree of hearing loss.

‘Treating hearing loss is not going to hurt you, except perhaps your wallet,’ Dr Lin said, noting that he is currently running a trial to see if treating hearing loss would delay the onset of dementia.

‘We really need to begin studying what the exact mechanism is. And we need to begin studying whether hearing aids could have an effect on the onset of dementia.’

Exercise and colon cancer

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Moving your body vigorously is the magical cure for almost anything it seems – exercise prevents heart and lung disease, keeps bones strong and healthy, and now new research also indicates that it can help prevent death from colon cancer. Siski Green reports

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St Louis worked together with other researchers from the American Cancer Society, using their data to see whether consistent physical activity had an effect on the risk of getting colon cancer and/or the likelihood of dying from the disease.

Colon cancer cells

Colon cancer cells

Looking at data from more than 150,000 men and women, the researchers assessed exercise levels over a 15-year period and then, incidence of colon cancer in the following eight years. They found that people who exercised regularly over a period of at least ten years were in the lowest-risk group for colon cancer.


The research indicates that individuals get the most benefits from exercise if they do so consistently and over as long a period of time during adulthood as possible. But, say the researchers, it’s never too late to start.

They argue that even a 30-minute walk each day is enough to reduce your risk of a number of diseases, and that exercise, once a cancer diagnosis has been made, can decrease the risk of it recurring or of becoming worse.