Hearing loss was identified in the 2020 Lancet Commission as one of 12 modifiable risk factors that contribute to around 40% of dementia diagnoses worldwide. In a new article published in the Lancet, and simultaneously presented at the 2023 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, researchers from the ACHIEVE trial show that hearing aids may help reduce long-term cognitive decline in older adults with mild to moderate hearing loss. ACHIEVE is a multicentre, parallel-group, unblinded, randomised controlled trial which recruited adults aged 70-84 years with untreated hearing loss and without substantial cognitive impairment. In total, 977 participants were recruited to ACHIEVE: 739 healthy volunteers, and 238 participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study, a long-standing observational study of cardiovascular health.
Participants were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive a hearing intervention (hearing aids and counselling from an audiologist), or sessions with a health educator on chronic disease prevention. Analysis of ACHIEVE data showed there was little difference in outcomes on a comprehensive neurocognitive battery between participants receiving the hearing intervention and those who received the health education sessions. However, a prespecified sensitivity analysis on the ARIC participants, who had more risk factors for cognitive decline and lower cognition scores at baseline, revealed a 48% reduction in cognitive decline over 3 years in this group. This suggests that the hearing intervention was more beneficial for older adults at greater risk of cognitive decline, for example due to higher rates of hypertension or diabetes. A follow-up study of the ACHIEVE cohort is now underway, evaluating longer-term effects of the hearing intervention.
Read the AAIC press release: https://aaic.alz.org/releases_2023/hearing-aids-slow-cognitive-decline.asp
Read the Lancet article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)01406-X/fulltext#seccestitle150
