Reacción a "Reactions to the study associating hearing loss with a higher risk of dementia"

There has long been interest in whether treating deafness with hearing aids can reduce the risk of developing dementia or at least delay the onset of dementia.

This is a large population register study, in which deafness was associated with a small (7%) increase in the risk of developing dementia and that this risk was slightly attenuated in people who used hearing aids. It is always important to remember that association does not equal causation and to think about the potential differences between older people with hearing impairment who acquire and persist with the use of hearing aids versus those who don’t. So far, no randomised clinical trial has shown that encouraging deaf people to use hearing aids significantly reduces the development of dementia. We should probably wait until we have the results of such trials before recommending this as a way to prevent dementia. However, for those who find them acceptable and useful, hearing aids bring many other positive benefits to the lives of people with hearing impairment.