Treating hearing loss is associated with a 24% decrease in risk of early death, study shows

Data shows not enough people wear hearing aids, which could be a problem for long-term health. Experts explain how the devices help and when to get them.

Your health resolutions for the new year may need to include getting checked for hearing aids. Wearing hearing aids if you need them may help protect you from early death, according to a new study published Wednesday in The Lancet Healthy Longevity journal. “What we found was that there was a 24% lower risk of mortality for people who use hearing aids,” said Dr. Janet Choi, an assistant professor of clinical otolaryngology-head and neck surgery with the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine and an otolaryngologist with Keck Medicine of USC. The study looked at the data of 10,000 people — more than 1,800 of whom were identified as having hearing loss — and followed up on their mortality between 1999 and 2012. Some 237 of those with hearing loss reported using hearing aids at least once a week, whereas 1,483 reported never using hearing devices, according to the research. There was no difference in risk of death over the research period between people who used hearing aids occasionally and those who never wore them, but regular users were at a significantly lower risk, the study showed.