Treating hearing loss is associated with a decrease in risk of early death and dementia, studies show

Wearing hearing aids if you need them may help protect you from early death, according to a new study published Wednesday in The Lancet Healthy Longevity journal.

“What we found was that there was a 24% lower risk of mortality for people who use hearing aids,” said Dr. Janet Choi, an assistant professor of clinical otolaryngology-head and neck surgery with the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine and an otolaryngologist with Keck Medicine of USC.