Hearing loss linked to higher risk of death in adults
Compared with the reference group, relative rates of death were 1.19 for mild, 1.55 for moderate and 1.56 for moderately severe or worse hearing loss.
Meta-analysis, independent replication
An observational meta-analysis of 13,851 participants in Australia, Iceland and the USA linked hearing loss to higher mortality. Their mean age was 61.8 years; 45.0% were men and 55.0% were women. Researchers combined individual records from three population-based studies. They accounted for age, sex, smoking, several health conditions and other measured factors.
Mild, moderate and moderately severe or worse hearing loss were associated with higher rates of death from any cause and from cardiovascular disease, which affects the heart and blood vessels. Current hearing-aid use was associated with lower rates of both, with hazard ratios—relative measures of death rates—of 0.91 and 0.85, respectively. A separate observational study of 50,277 adults in Norway supported the findings.
Why it matters
The authors identified hearing aids and other forms of hearing rehabilitation as an important area for further research on adult life expectancy.
Caveats
These observational findings cannot show that hearing loss caused deaths or that hearing aids prolonged life. The abstract did not specify the reference groups for the relative estimates or report follow-up durations.
The paper
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders; Imperial College London
The Lancet Healthy Longevity, 14 Oct 2026
