Why More Adults Should Embrace Hearing Aids

Here are five ways you can benefit from wearing hearing aids.

1. Hearing aids can help improve your social life​

No one’s suggesting that a tiny pair of hearing aids has the power to magically fill your social calendar (if only!). But research shows they do have the power to reduce social isolation by removing a major barrier to staying socially connected: the ability to hear and respond to what others are saying.

In a published review of research published in JAMA Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery that included more than 5,000 participants, adults who used hearing devices felt more socially connected and less handicapped by their hearing loss in social situations, whether it was a group conversation or dinner in a noisy restaurant. No surprise.

“With hearing aids, it’s easier to hear and [therefore] easier and more fun to socialize,” says Dr. Justin S. Golub, associate professor and vice chair of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at the New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Simple as that.

2. Hearing aids help ease depression and anxiety​

Sleep woes. Lack of physical activity. Caregiver stress. Social isolation and loneliness. The list of risk factors for depression and anxiety in people over 50 includes all these common culprits. Missing from the list? An equally common — though typically overlooked — risk factor: untreated hearing loss.

Research suggests an undeniable relationship between hearing impairment and depression. The blame is shared by social isolation and the changes in brain structure related to hearing loss.

In one large study of more than 25,000 adults, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, researchers linked hearing loss to both greater psychological distress and increased rates of using antidepressant and antianxiety medications and mental health services. In another study of 17,000 participants, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, wearing hearing aids was associated with lower rates of unmet mental health needs and depression.

3. Hearing aids help reduce your risk of falling​

What does hearing well have to do with staying steady on your feet? More than you might think. Research suggests that untreated hearing loss in older adults — even mild cases — more than doubles the risk of falls.

A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that older adults with hearing loss who consistently wore hearing aids showed a significantly lower risk of falling compared with those who didn’t wear them. The decline in falls was even greater among those who wore hearing aids at least four hours a day.

“There are a couple possible reasons,” says Golub, who wasn’t involved in the study. “First, the inner ear is involved in both hearing and balance. People who have worse inner ear hearing loss may tend to have worse inner ear balance function. Second, hearing plays a role in orienting you to your environment. Without realizing it, the echoes of your body walking around a room help cue you in to where you are in [a] space.”

A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that older adults with hearing loss who consistently wore hearing aids showed a significantly lower risk of falling compared with those who didn’t wear them. The decline in falls was even greater among those who wore hearing aids at least four hours a day.

“There are a couple possible reasons,” says Golub, who wasn’t involved in the study. “First, the inner ear is involved in both hearing and balance. People who have worse inner ear hearing loss may tend to have worse inner ear balance function. Second, hearing plays a role in orienting you to your environment. Without realizing it, the echoes of your body walking around a room help cue you in to where you are in [a] space.”

4. Hearing aids may help prevent or delay cognitive decline​

In a landmark trial known as the ACHIEVE study, researchers asked a simple question based on a data-supported hunch: Does treating hearing loss in older adults reduce cognitive decline? At the end of three years, they had at least part of their answer.

In participants at an increased risk for cognitive decline, hearing intervention slowed down their loss of thinking and memory abilities by 48 percent over three years. Although scientists have known for a while that there’s a relationship between hearing loss and cognitive decline, the ACHIEVE study provided evidence that treating hearing loss can help preserve cognitive function.

The study authors think that may be because untreated hearing loss forces the brain to work harder to process sound, and this cognitive strain diverts resources away from memory and thinking functions; plus, people who have hearing loss tend to withdraw from social activities that could keep their minds engaged, Nieman says.

What’s more, “with hearing loss there are structural, functional changes that are happening in the brain, and that may then be leading to changes in parts of the brain that are important for memory and cognition,” she says.

No wonder the Lancet commission on dementia called hearing loss the single most important modifiable risk factor for dementia in its 2024 report. “We have very consistent evidence, study after study, showing an association between hearing loss and cognition, memory difficulties and dementia that we see time and time again,” Nieman adds.

5. Hearing aids reduce listening fatigue

​Anyone who’s been to a party, noisy restaurant, family gathering or concert (in other words, pretty much all of us) knows about the energy that goes into the simple act of hearing. Layer hearing loss onto any of those scenarios and it’s easy to understand the connection between hearing loss and listening fatigue.

And it’s not just a quality-of-life issue. According to the American Academy of Audiology, this sort of listening fatigue creates a cognitive, social, emotional and physical ripple effect, as the brain goes into overdrive just to follow along.

“Hearing loss adds a lot of burden when you’re pushing that system in a noisy setting — that’s a lot of extra work your brain has to do,” Nieman says. Hearing aids may not get rid of the burden completely, but they can “certainly help,” she says. ​​