Author: Sanjena Venkatesh, Roger Wong, Martin Corsten, James Ted McDonald , Stephanie Johnson-Obaseki, Alexandra E Quimby
Year: 2026
Category:
Health Publications
Many older adults experience hearing loss, and dementia is becoming more common as the population ages. Researchers are interested in whether hearing loss may be linked to dementia and whether social isolation plays a role in this relationship.
To explore these factors, this study used U.S. survey data from adults aged 65 and older who did not have dementia at the start of the study. Hearing was measured using hearing tests, and social isolation was assessed using a set of survey questions. The study found that people with moderate to severe hearing loss had higher odds of having dementia. People with hearing impairment were also more likely to be socially isolated, and social isolation itself was linked to higher dementia incidence.
When results were examined separately by social isolation status, moderate to severe hearing loss was associated with dementia among those who were not socially isolated, but not among those who were socially isolated. More research is needed to better understand these relationships over time.
