10 Tips to Protect Your Hearing and Help Preserve Memory

Special report explains that hearing is integral to brain health and well-being

Tania Hannan

Updated July 31, 2024

A man and girl on a couch listening to music in headphones

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Hear, hear! Treating hearing loss can help you stay socially connected as you age — which has profound benefits for health and well-being. Importantly, avoiding hearing loss, or treating it if it happens, is one of the best ways to reduce the risk of cognitive decline, according to a special report from AARP’s Global Council on Brain Health (GCBH).

Researchers have long observed a connection between hearing and brain health in studies showing hearing loss and dementia risk are directly related. The first large-scale randomized controlled trial, led by Johns Hopkins researcher Frank Lin, M.D., tested the hypothesis that treating hearing loss may help to preserve brain function. Results were promising: Among older adults at higher risk of dementia, those who wore hearing aids for three years experienced 48 percent less cognitive decline than those who didn’t, according to a 2023 report in The Lancet. Lin said study participants who wore hearing aids — in the higher-risk group and a separate, lower-risk group — also experienced better communication and were more socially engaged and less lonely.

The research “strengthens the case for addressing hearing loss to protect cognitive well-being, promote communication and social engagement, and reduce the possibility of decline,” the GCBH report said. Millions stand to benefit: One in three adults 64 to 74, and half of those 75 and up, have age-related hearing loss, according to the report. Yet in a nationally representative sample of adults 71 and older, only 29 percent with hearing loss used hearing aids, according to a study reported in JAMA Network Open in 2023.

Closing the gap starts with awareness — and regular screening. Nearly half of respondents to a 2023 AARP Research survey of adults 40 and over weren’t aware that untreated hearing loss may contribute to dementia and falls. In a 2024 AARP survey, only 41 percent of adults over 50 reported having had a hearing test in the past five years. Visit the AARP Hearing Center for more information and resources — including access to a phone-based hearing test (free to AARP members).

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The GCBH offers 10 tips on hearing for your brain health:

1. Know that hearing supports good thinking and brain health. You can take simple actions to protect your hearing, and in most cases, you can effectively treat hearing loss. Both of those efforts may benefit your mind and overall health.

2. Establish a baseline hearing test, and get your hearing checked periodically. The World Health Organization recommends that adults age 50–64 get screened every five years, and starting at age 65 every one to three years. Screenings should be more frequent for individuals who are regularly exposed to loud noise; who have other risk factors, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, a genetic vulnerability to hearing loss; or who take certain medications.

3. Recognize warning signs of hearing loss. Do you often ask people to repeat themselves? Do you find it increasingly difficult to follow conversations in a crowded room or restaurant? Do family members frequently ask you to turn down the television? You may feel that people are mumbling when they are actually speaking clearly. Ringing or buzzing in the ears, known as tinnitus, may be another warning sign.

4. Protect your ears in noisy environments. The best safeguard is to avoid exposure to loud noise, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. That can be difficult in a noisy world. Protection may be advisable if you attend an auto race, fireworks display, sports game, rock concert, loud social gatherings or other blaring events. At such times, you can wear discreet earplugs or earmuffs. The earlier you protect yourself, the better. But it’s never too late to begin.

5. If your hearing declines, take action as soon as you can. Many people avoid doing so. People with hearing loss wait an average of seven years before seeking help, according to the Hearing Loss Association of America. There is a price for procrastinating. Quality of life is undermined. And with the passage of time, there may be less likelihood that a medically treatable hearing loss (not a typical age-related decline) can be improved.

6. Be aware that uncorrected hearing loss may undermine emotional well-being. If it becomes hard to hear others and participate in conversation, you may pull back from friends and other social connections. This can lead to loneliness and isolation, which can be extremely harmful.

7. Do your homework before purchasing a hearing device. Hearing aids come in different forms. Behind-the-ear devices are generally more powerful, have more features and are often very discreet. Smaller devices (in-the-ear and in-the-canal) may be impossible for others to see but may have less power. Some over-the-counter devices resemble earbuds but may be intended for part-time use. If you’re considering buying an over-the-counter product, it may be wise to consult a hearing professional first.

8. If you need a hearing aid, make sure you buy a hearing aid. A separate category of hearing products known as personal sound amplification products is designed for bird-watchers and hunters who wish to amplify sound in certain situations. Unlike hearing aids, they are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not built to compensate for hearing loss. A hearing aid should say “hearing aid” on the box.

9. Watch out for scams. Soon after hearing aids became available over the counter, reports emerged of shady sales practices, including misleading labels, promises of miracle cures, a lack of trial periods and inadequate customer support. Consumers should look for established brands and research products online to see if there have been complaints. Read the product’s label, review the company’s website and look for information about trial periods, returns and customer support.

10. Don’t allow stigma to get in the way of hearing better. For most people, the availability of hearing aids means hearing loss is no longer something you just have to live with. In a positive sign, a majority of adults surveyed by AARP — 53 percent — said they do not consider hearing difficulty a sign that they are “getting old,” and 64 percent said they would not be uncomfortable being seen wearing a hearing aid.