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Adults who use hearing aids to treat hearing loss may reduce their risk of death by a large percentage, according to a new study.
Earlier this week, researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) published the findings in the journal The Lancet Healthy Longevity.
“We found that there is a 24% lower risk of mortality in people who use hearing aids,” says Dr. Janet Choi, assistant professor of clinical otolaryngology – head and neck surgery at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. and otolaryngologist with Keck Medicine of USC, said in a statement to CNN.
The study examined data from 10,000 people, including more than 1,800 individuals who identified hearing loss.
Of these, a small group reported using the devices at least once a week, compared to a larger number of individuals who reported never using such devices.
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After studying mortality between 1999 and 2012, researchers found that there was no difference between people who used hearing aids occasionally and those who never used them.
However, the study found that users who regularly wore hearing aids had a significantly lower risk of death.
Hearing loss affects more than half of people in the United States over the age of 75, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Factors that lead to hearing loss can include damage to the inner ear and the buildup of earwax overtime, the medical organization adds.
Currently, about 30 million people age 12 and older in the United States have hearing loss in both ears, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders.
The organization adds that more than 28 million adults nationwide could benefit from hearing aids.
Moreover, among adults aged 70 and older with hearing loss who could benefit, less than 30% have ever used them.
Similarly, around 16% of adults aged 20 to 69 who could benefit from the same have ever used a hearing aid.
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