Deafness and dementia

Losing your hearing could increase your risk of developing dementia. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore studied more than 600 men and women over an average of 12 years and all the participants had a hearing test done at the start of the study. Overall 9% of the participants developed dementia over the course of the study. Those with mild hearing loss had twice the risk of developing dementia, while those with moderate hearing loss had three times the risk. People with severe hearing loss had five times the risk of developing dementia.