Anyone who is struggling to hear everyday conversations or dialogue on TV shows should immediately take a hearing test, a leading audiologist has warned.
Kevin Munro, Professor of Audiology at Manchester University, says hearing loss is as important as any other medical problem and needs early diagnosis and treatment, including hearing aids.
He spoke amid growing evidence of the link between hearing loss and dementia.
Last week, research from New York’s Columbia University found evidence that deafness is to blame for a third of dementia cases in older people – more than was previously thought to be the case.
Meanwhile a new Chinese study found the psychological distress caused by hearing impairment plays a “notable” role in developing problems with the heart.
Hearing tests
Research by the Royal National Institute For The Deaf (RNID) reveals the worrying statistic that by the age of 55, over half the population have hearing loss. By age 70, that number rises to 80%.
Munro, who grew up in Dunfermline, said: “Any sign of struggling to listen to others in, say, a crowded room, turning up the television or radio to hear it better, or indeed any signs of struggling to understand what is being said, means you must get your hearing tested.
“We know that social isolation (being cut off from others by deafness or for other reasons) is a risk factor for dementia. Deafness contributes to this isolation.
“You would not for example leave a broken leg unattended for 10 years before seeking a diagnosis or treatment.”
Munro is calling for an easier route to NHS hearing treatment through patients diagnosing deafness with online tests. The RNID has an online hearing test on its website.
He said: “Ideally, we should be able to send test results to your health board and book an appointment with an audiologist.”
Munro is a UK National Institute for Health and Care (NIHR) senior investigator and revealed that he has been deaf in one ear since infancy and was diagnosed by accident at four when he could not hear his grandad on the phone. His parents noticed that he could not hear after putting the receiver to his right ear.
He said: “I wear a hearing aid and place a small discreet microphone on my wife’s jacket when we are out for dinner in a crowded room.
“Hearing aids are so small now, hardly anyone notices and often assume they are ear pods.
“We need to get rid of any discrimination against deafness especially as it needs early diagnosis and intervention.”
Munro’s research shows that the majority of adults are willing to take online tests.
Signs of hearing loss
Signs of hearing loss include difficulty understanding speech especially in noisy places, asking others to repeat themselves, feeling tired from concentrating on conversations, finding it difficult to hear certain sounds such as high-pitched tones, and turning the radio or TV up.
Tinnitus (ringing or whirring sounds in the ears) is also a sign.
The Columbia University study, published in the medical journal JAMA Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, concluded: “In a large cohort of community-dwelling older adults with a mean age of 75 years, nearly one in three incident dementia cases could be attributed to clinically significant hearing loss.”
The 32% finding is higher than previous ones, which have varied between 2% and 19%.
Hearing loss must be diagnosed through testing rather than on self-reported deafness, the scientists caution.
The study cannot identify the mechanism for hearing loss increasing dementia, but suggests that it increases the “cognitive load” on the brain when a person struggles to understand what is being said.
It also flags up the decrease in socialising with hearing loss, along with the structural and functional brain changes it induces.
The Alzheimer’s Society backed Munro’s call. It said: “Many people start to lose their hearing as they get older, though they may not notice it at first.
“To reduce the risk of dementia, it’s important to get your hearing tested.
“Hearing aids have been shown to reduce the risk of dementia to the level of a person with normal hearing.”
The charity added that hearing loss is only a risk factor and does not mean that a person with hearing loss will develop dementia. In short, it increases the risk.
Any hearing loss should be reported to your GP for referral to your local audiology clinic.
The Which? consumer organisation’s 2025 survey of hearing aids providers puts local independent centres top, followed by Boots Hearingcare, Specsavers, Hidden Hearing, and Amplifon.
The RNID’S online hearing test is at rnid.org.uk/information-and-support/take-online-hearing-check
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