Hearing aids are usually prescribed to improve hearing, but new research suggests they may also help protect the brain in a specific group of people.
Scientists have discovered that adults living with both epilepsy and hearing loss who wear hearing aids appear less likely to develop dementia than similar people who do not use them.
The findings were presented at the European Academy of Neurology Congress 2026 by researchers from University Hospital Zurich and the University of Liverpool.
Dementia affects memory, thinking, language, and the ability to perform everyday tasks. Although age is the biggest risk factor, researchers have identified several factors that may increase or reduce risk.
Hearing loss is considered one of the most important risk factors that can potentially be treated.
Even so, previous studies have produced mixed results on whether hearing aids actually lower dementia risk.
To explore this question further, researchers examined anonymized electronic health records from the TriNetX network, which includes data from more than 250 million patients.
They compared people with hearing loss who used hearing aids with carefully matched people who did not.
The team investigated the general hearing-loss population as well as several high-risk medical groups, including people with stroke, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, migraine, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, and epilepsy.
Most of these groups showed no statistically significant reduction in dementia risk associated with hearing aid use. However, people with epilepsy stood out. Hearing aid users with epilepsy had a 23% lower relative risk of developing dementia over five years.
Researchers estimate this means one case of dementia could potentially be avoided for every 37 people with epilepsy who use hearing aids.
Scientists think epilepsy may make the brain more vulnerable because many patients already have reduced cognitive reserve, meaning the brain has less ability to cope with additional stress.
Untreated hearing loss forces the brain to work harder to understand sounds, leaving fewer resources available for memory and thinking.
Restoring hearing may therefore reduce this extra workload in people whose brains are already under strain. The study also has practical implications because hearing tests are simple, inexpensive, and widely available.
Since epilepsy patients regularly visit neurologists and other healthcare professionals, hearing screening could become a routine part of their care. If hearing loss is detected, treatment with hearing aids could improve quality of life regardless of any future effect on dementia.
The researchers stressed that these findings should be interpreted carefully. This was an observational study rather than a randomized clinical trial, so it cannot establish cause and effect. Future prospective studies will be needed to determine whether hearing aids directly help protect brain function.
Overall, the findings add another reason for people with epilepsy not to ignore hearing problems. While more research is needed, early hearing assessment and treatment may become an important part of maintaining both communication and long-term brain health.
If you care about dementia, please read studies that eating apples and tea could keep dementia at bay, and Olive oil: a daily dose for better brain health.
For more health information, please see recent studies what you eat together may affect your dementia risk, and time-restricted eating: a simple way to fight aging and cancer.
Source: University Hospital Zurich and University of Liverpool.
