Age-related Hearing Loss: Recent Developments in Approaching a Public Health Challenge

Purpose of Review Age-related hearing loss is highly prevalent and increasingly recognized as a public health priority. The purpose of this review is to summarize developments in understanding the role hearing plays in aging and new approaches to hearing health care. Recent Findings Growing evidence from large epidemiologic studies documents an association between hearing loss and the development of incident dementia, accelerated cognitive decline, depression, decreased quality of life, and falls, as well as increased risk of hospitalizations, health care utilization, and expenditures. Recent advances in legislation and delivery models hold promise in increasing access to hearing health care with the ultimate goal of mitigating the impact of hearing loss. Summary With an aging population, age-related hearing loss will remain a public health priority. While progress has been made in the past decade, more research must be conducted to better understand the consequences of age-related hearing loss and the benefits of treatment, as well as expand access to hearing health care, particularly, as a potentially essential tool to aging well.