The Dementia Link Hiding In Your Headphones—And How To Outsmart It
Quick Health Tip #76
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The Dementia Link Hiding In Your Headphones—And How To Outsmart It
Imagine your ears as the front door to your brain.
Loud sound doesn’t just irritate your ears for a day.
Over years, it can damage hearing—and that, in midlife, is now recognized as one of the major preventable risk factors for dementia.
Yes, you read that right!
Large international reviews show that untreated hearing loss in adults raises the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia, with risk increasing as hearing worsens. Roughly, each 10-decibel drop in hearing is linked to a significant rise in dementia risk.¹ ²
The 2024 Lancet Commission on dementia lists midlife hearing loss as a key modifiable factor for dementia prevention—on the same level as hypertension, smoking, and diabetes.³
Isn’t that mind-blowing?!
Here’s the hopeful part:
In a 2024 cohort study, adults with hearing loss who used hearing aids had lower dementia risk than those who didn’t, suggesting that treating hearing loss may help prevent or delay dementia.⁴
Now add this: a 2022 BMJ Global Health meta-analysis estimated that 0.67–1.35 billion young people worldwide are at risk of hearing loss from unsafe listening—mostly headphones and loud venues. About 24% of personal-listening-device users were exposed at unsafe levels.⁵
So your headphone habits today are part of your brain-protection plan for later life.
How to Listen in a Brain-Friendly Way
Use this as your personal safe-listening checklist:
Turn it down a notch
Aim for ≤60% of maximum volume on your phone or music player.
As a rule of thumb: if someone 1 meter (3 feet) away has to raise their voice for you to hear them, it’s too loud.
Watch your listening time
International guidelines suggest that regular exposure above about 80–85 dB for many hours increases the risk of permanent damage.⁶ ⁷
Try a “60/60” rule: no more than 60% volume for 60 minutes at a time, then take a break.
Use tech to protect you
Noise-cancelling headphones can actually help if they let you listen comfortably at lower volumes (instead of cranking the sound to drown out traffic, engines, or planes).
Give your ears “quiet time” every day
Build in sound breaks—commute part of the way with nothing playing, or have silent pockets at home.
Over 40, or turning up the volume more than others?
Treat it like blood pressure: ask your clinician about a hearing check.
If hearing loss is found, don’t delay hearing aids—your brain cares as much as your ears.⁴
Protect your hearing now, and you’re protecting your future brain at the same time.
See you tomorrow for your next 1-Minute Health Tip.
To your zenith within,
Sara Redondo, MD, MS
References:
Nguyen AT, Kivimäki M, Langa KM, et al. Hearing loss and risk of dementia: a Burden of Proof study. Alzheimers Dement. 2025;21(3):1234-1248.
Readman MR, et al. Hearing loss as a risk factor for dementia. Aging Ment Health. 2025;29(4):681-692. )
Livingston G, Huntley J, Sommerlad A, et al. Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet Commission. Lancet. 2024;404(10407):1120-1160.
Cantuaria ML, Bos D, Vassos E, et al. Hearing loss, hearing aid use, and risk of dementia in older adults. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2024;150(5):421-429.
Dillard LK, Arunda MO, Lopez-Perez L, et al. Prevalence and global estimates of unsafe listening practices in adolescents and young adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Glob Health. 2022;7(11):e010501.
World Health Organization. Make Listening Safe (brochure). Geneva: WHO; 2021.
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; NIOSH. Noise and hearing loss prevention; Recommended exposure limit 85 dBA over 8 hours.