CALIFORNIA: A study conducted by researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) has shown that adults who use hearing aids to address hearing loss can significantly reduce their risk of premature death. The findings, published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity journal, highlight the potential health benefits associated with hearing aid use.
Dr. Janet Choi, an assistant professor of clinical otolaryngology-head and neck surgery with USC’s Keck School of Medicine, shared the study’s key outcome. “What we found was that there was a 24% lower risk of mortality for people who use hearing aids,” she stated.
The research analyzed data from a sample of 10,000 persons, including over 1,800 who self-identified as having hearing loss. Among them, a subgroup reported using hearing aids at least once a week, while a larger segment acknowledged never using such devices. The study assessed mortality rates between 1999 and 2012.
The results revealed no significant difference in mortality rates between persons who occasionally used hearing aids and those who never utilized them. However, the study highlighted a substantial reduction in the risk of death for those who regularly wore hearing aids.
Hearing loss is a prevalent issue, affecting more than half of the US population aged over 75, according to the Mayo Clinic. Contributing factors include damage to the inner ear and the accumulation of earwax over time. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders reports that approximately 30 million people aged 12 and older in the United States have hearing loss in both ears, with over 28 million adults potentially benefiting from hearing aids.
Despite the potential advantages, the study also revealed that a relatively low percentage of adults who could benefit from hearing aids have utilized them. Among adults aged 70 and older with hearing loss, fewer than 30% have ever used hearing aids. Similarly, only about 16% of adults aged 20 to 69 who could benefit from hearing aids have ever used them.
