Janet S. Choi, MD, from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and colleagues examined 9885 adults aged 20 years and older from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2012 and completed audiometry and hearing aid questionnaires (1863 with hearing loss) to assess the associations of hearing loss and hearing aid use with mortality.

The weighted prevalence of audiometry-measured hearing loss was 14.7%. At a median of 10.4 years of follow-up, the all-cause mortality rate was 13.2%. The researchers found that among adults with hearing loss, the rate of regular hearing aid use was 12.7%. Hearing loss was an independent risk factor for mortality (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.21 to 1.62). After accounting for demographics, hearing levels, and medical history, the adjusted mortality risk was lower for regular hearing aid users than never users among individuals with hearing loss (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.60 to 0.95). No difference was seen in adjusted mortality for nonregular hearing aid users and never users (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.70 to 1.24).

“The replication of our study’s findings in future research with more enhanced study designs is imperative,” the authors write. “This should encompass randomized controlled trials investigating the effect of hearing aid use on a spectrum of health outcomes linked to mortality, alongside large-scale longitudinal studies that incorporate comprehensive data on hearing aid use and pertinent confounding and mediating variables.”

Two authors disclosed ties to the audio technology industry.

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