New research presented at the EAN Congress 2026 finds that hearing aid use is associated with a significant reduction in dementia risk among adults with epilepsy — a finding that researchers say has direct implications for hearing screening in neurological care settings.
Adults with both epilepsy and hearing loss who use hearing aids may have a 23% lower risk of developing dementia compared to those who do not, according to new research presented at the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Congress 2026.
The findings add a clinically meaningful dimension to the ongoing conversation around hearing aids and cognitive decline, while also suggesting that the relationship between amplification and dementia prevention may be more nuanced — and population-specific — than previously assumed.
The Study
Researchers from University Hospital Zurich and the University of Liverpool analyzed electronic health records from more than 250 million patients in the TriNetX network. They compared adults with hearing loss who used hearing aids with closely matched adults who did not, examining both the overall hearing-loss population and subgroups living with epilepsy, stroke, type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, heart failure, migraine, and osteoarthritis.
No significant association was found between hearing aid use and dementia risk in the overall hearing-loss population, nor among those with stroke, migraine, type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, heart failure, or osteoarthritis.
The sole exception was epilepsy. Among adults with both epilepsy and hearing loss, hearing aid use was associated with a 23% lower relative risk of dementia — corresponding to an absolute risk reduction of 2.7 percentage points over five years. That translates to one fewer case of dementia for every 37 people using hearing aids.
A Specific — and Consistent — Finding
Lead author Dr Carolina Ferreira-Atuesta described the specificity of the result as unexpected.
“What surprised us most was how specific the finding was to epilepsy. We expected to see a small benefit across several of the higher-risk groups we studied. Instead, most showed no significant association, while the association in epilepsy was observed consistently across all of our analyses. That consistency gives us greater confidence that this is a meaningful finding,” says Ferreira-Atuesta, in a release.
The research team believes the findings may be explained by differences in cognitive reserve — the brain’s capacity to continue functioning effectively despite age-related changes or disease-related damage.
“Most people with hearing loss have enough cognitive reserve to absorb the extra effort caused by hearing impairment, so correcting it may not have a large effect on dementia risk. Epilepsy is different because cognitive reserve is often already reduced, meaning that removing one additional source of strain may have a greater impact,” says Ferreira-Atuesta, in a release.
The researchers also point to several biologically plausible mechanisms: epilepsy is associated with accelerated cognitive decline; temporal lobe epilepsy affects brain regions involved in hearing; and some anti-seizure medications may worsen hearing. Prior work at The Hearing Review has explored related territory, including a study examining anti-seizure drugs and their effect on hearing loss.
Implications for Clinical Practice
The researchers argue that the findings carry direct implications for hearing care professionals, particularly those working in or alongside neurological care settings. Because people with epilepsy are already in regular contact with healthcare services, the authors suggest hearing assessments could be readily incorporated into routine care for this population.
“Hearing loss is one of the few dementia risk factors we can actually do something about. It’s easy to detect, and hearing aids are established, reversible and low-risk. This is a real call for increased awareness and screening. We have a vulnerable population, a problem that’s straightforward to identify and a correction that’s simple to deliver,” says Ferreira-Atuesta, in a release.
The researchers also underscore that the case for treating hearing loss in people with epilepsy extends well beyond dementia risk. “If you have hearing loss, treat it,” Ferreira-Atuesta says, in a release. “The benefits for communication, mood and staying connected are real and well established, so there’s every reason to act now.”
Caveats and Next Steps
The study is observational in design and cannot establish that hearing aids directly cause a reduction in dementia risk. The authors call for prospective studies to further examine whether amplification can help protect long-term brain health in people with epilepsy and hearing loss.
Still, the findings build on a growing body of evidence linking hearing health to broader cognitive outcomes — and they reinforce hearing loss’s long-standing designation as the largest single modifiable risk factor for dementia. For audiologists and hearing care professionals, the research points toward an underserved patient population where routine hearing screening may offer meaningful clinical value.
