From Daily Mail: Tackling hearing loss early and making an effort to maintain social relationships could delay the development of dementia later in life, promising new research has found.
Studies have long suggested that around four in ten cases of the memory-robbing condition could be preventable.
Addressing vision loss, treating depression and doing plenty of exercise are all ways of reducing the risk.
Now Swiss scientists, who tracked more than 30,000 adults, have revealed a significant link between hearing loss, loneliness and memory decline.
“Addressing hearing impairment alongside loneliness—even in socially integrated individuals—may be crucial for promoting cognitive health in later life,” scientists at the University of Geneva said in the journal Communications Psychology.
“With increasing longevity, understanding the relationship between hearing impairment and cognitive functioning is of utmost importance for ageing societies,” they added.
In the study, 33,741 adults aged 50 and over were monitored during a 17-year period. Older adults who reported being lonely had steeper cognitive decline “as their hearing deteriorated compared to socially integrated individuals,” the Mail reports.
Scientists pinpoint two key factors which increase dementia risk more than any other – one is frighteningly difficult to avoid https://t.co/aSsHMBThEY
— Daily Mail US (@Daily_MailUS) July 18, 2025
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