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79/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 79 out of 100. Prevention and risk

Reviewed as evidence on: Hearing loss / visual impairment and hearing aid use and dementia risk 3 studies (what the news said). Being listed means the study bears on the question, not that it agrees with the news.

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Importance Hearing loss is associated with cognitive decline. Results A total of 3243 studies were screened; 31 studies (25 observational studies, 6 trials) with 137 484 participants were included, of which 19 (15 observational studies, 4 trials) were included in quantitative analyses. Meta-analysis of 8 studies, which had 126 903 participants, had a follow-up duration ranging from 2 to 25 years, and studied long-term associations between hearing aid use and cognitive decline, showed significantly lower hazards of any cognitive decline among hearing aid users compared with participants with uncorrected hearing loss (HR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.76-0.87; I2 = 0%). Additionally, meta-analysis of 11 studies with 568 participants studying the association between hearing restoration and short-term cognitive test score changes revealed a 3% improvement in short-term cognitive test scores after the use of hearing aids (ratio of means, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.02-1.04, I2 = 0%). Conclusions and relevance In this meta-analysis, the usage of hearing restorative devices by participants with hearing loss was associated with a 19% decrease in hazards of long-term cognitive decline. Furthermore, usage of these devices was significantly associated with a 3% improvement in cognitive test scores that assessed general cognition in the short term.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Yeo, B. S. Y., HJJMD, S., Toh, E. M. S., Ng, L. S., Ho, C. S. H., Ho, R., et al. (2023). Association of Hearing Aids and Cochlear Implants With Cognitive Decline and Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.4427

Vancouver

Yeo BSY, HJJMD S, Toh EMS, Ng LS, Ho CSH, Ho R, et al. Association of Hearing Aids and Cochlear Implants With Cognitive Decline and Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Neurology. 2023. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.4427. PMID: 36469314.

BibTeX

@article{yeo2023-36469314,
  author  = {Yeo, B. S. Y. and HJJMD, Song and Toh, E. M. S. and Ng, L. S. and Ho, C. S. H. and Ho, R. and others},
  title   = {{Association of Hearing Aids and Cochlear Implants With Cognitive Decline and Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis}},
  journal = {JAMA Neurology},
  year    = {2023},
  doi     = {10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.4427},
  pmid    = {36469314},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.4427}
}

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Key findings

Importance Hearing loss is associated with cognitive decline.
Results A total of 3243 studies were screened; 31 studies (25 observational studies, 6 trials) with 137 484 participants were included, of which 19 (15 observational studies, 4 trials) were included in quantitative analyses.
Meta-analysis of 8 studies, which had 126 903 participants, had a follow-up duration ranging from 2 to 25 years, and studied long-term associations between hearing aid use and cognitive decline, showed significantly lower hazards of any cognitive decline among hearing aid users compared with participants with uncorrected hearing loss (HR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.76-0.87; I2 = 0%).
Additionally, meta-analysis of 11 studies with 568 participants studying the association between hearing restoration and short-term cognitive test score changes revealed a 3% improvement in short-term cognitive test scores after the use of hearing aids (ratio of means, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.02-1.04, I2 = 0%).
Conclusions and relevance In this meta-analysis, the usage of hearing restorative devices by participants with hearing loss was associated with a 19% decrease in hazards of long-term cognitive decline.

Why it matters

This meta-analysis of 31 studies with 137,484 participants found that hearing aid and cochlear implant use was associated with a 19% decrease in hazards of long-term cognitive decline and a 3% improvement in short-term cognitive test scores. It suggests hearing restoration may help reduce cognitive decline, but it does not show a treatment or cure for dementia.

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Study details

Study designmeta-analysis
Participants137,484
Effect sizeHR 0.81 (95% CI 0.76-0.87) for cognitive decline with hearing aid use
Evidence strengthModerate

Limitations

Mostly observational; people who use hearing aids differ in income, education and health engagement; a later UK Biobank study included in this literature was retracted in 2024.

How this study scored 79/100

Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies. We have no data on free to read, so that was left out: it earned 77 of the 98 points we could judge it on, which is 79 out of 100.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	9 / 10	Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (JAMA Neurology)
Journal's citation record	2 / 4	JAMA Neurology: journal h-index 235 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	12 / 12	A meta-analysis pooling many studies
Strength of evidence	3 / 5	Rated “moderate” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	3 / 5	2023 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	4 / 4	137,484 participants
Effect reported	3 / 3	Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar)
Studied in people	3 / 3	Studied in people (participant count stated)
Randomised / blinded	0 / 2	A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here
Times cited	5 / 7	Cited 263 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	5 / 5	52.6 citations a year over 5 year(s) since 2023
Impact for its field and year	5 / 6	Cited 22.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	3 / 6	Cited by 19 other studies in this library
Still being cited	4 / 4	Cited 233 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	1 / 4	Last-listed author Woei Shyang Loh: h-index 13 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	National University of Singapore: institution h-index 1,166 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 36469314)
Free to read	— / 2	Access not recorded — left out of this score
Points	77 / 98	Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 77 of the 98 points we could judge it on is 79 out of 100.
Total	79 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

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