Brain HealthHearing Aids Slash Cognitive Improvement Rate Sixfold in Older Adults With MCI
Hearing loss is one of the biggest modifiable risk factors for dementia, but it is unclear whether fixing it helps people who already have mild cognitive impairment (MCI). In the CHOICE trial in Shanghai, 703 adults aged 60 or older with moderate to severe hearing loss and MCI received either free hearing aids or a hearing care education program. After two years, 3.1% of the hearing aid group and 4.7% of the education group had progressed to dementia-level impairment, a difference that was not statistically significant. However, 15.3% of hearing aid users improved to a normal global cognitive rating, compared with 2.4% of the education group. Because the study was open-label and the improvement finding was a secondary outcome, the results are encouraging but not definitive.
