Many people lose some hearing with age, as cells within the ears change. More than half of adults over age 70 have some degree of hearing loss. Hearing impairment is also linked to higher dementia risk, but researchers don’t yet know exactly why there is a connection. Linda McEvoy, PhD, a senior investigator at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI), leads research looking at changes in the brain associated with hearing impairment in order to better understand whether preventing hearing loss could also reduce the risk of dementia.
