ABSTRACT Hearing loss is a leading modifiable risk factor for dementia, yet evidence that hearing interventions reduce dementia risk has been mixed and difficult to translate into practice. Jiang and colleagues address this gap by shifting the focus from hearing aid uptake to hearing aid effectiveness in a pooled analysis of 61,089 adults with hearing loss aged 55+ across seven longitudinal cohorts from 33 countries. Hearing aid use was associated with a modestly lower risk of probable dementia overall (Hazard Ratios, HR, 0.91), but the association was confined to participants reporting improvements in hearing (HR 0.86), with no apparent benefit among those reporting poor improvement in hearing (HR 0.98). Associations were stronger in middle‐income settings (HR 0.76) and in several demographic subgroups, underscoring the potential equity and implementation implications. We argue these findings reposition quality hearing rehabilitation as the key exposure for dementia prevention in adults with hearing loss, and outline priorities to standardize effectiveness measurement, incorporate effectiveness‐oriented endpoints into trials and routine hearing care, and develop implementation strategies that optimize real‐world benefit.
Gopinath et al. (Mon,) studied this question.