Hearing Aids and Dementia Risk Study Retracted

A study published last spring suggesting that hearing aids may help reduce dementia risk has been retracted due to a coding error identified by the authors. 

The study was published April 13 in The Lancet Public Health and reported by Medscape Medical News at that time. It was retracted by the journal on December 12.

According to the retraction notice, the journal editors in late November were informed by the authors of the paper that an error was introduced in the output format setting of their SAS codes, which led to data for people with hearing loss using hearing aids and those with hearing loss without using hearing aids being switched. 

This led to errors in their analysis, "which render their findings and conclusions false and misleading," the retraction notice states. 

These errors were identified by the researchers following an exchange with scientists seeking to reproduce the authors' findings.

In a statement, The Lancet Group said it "takes issues relating to research integrity extremely seriously" and follows best-practice guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). 

"Retractions are a rare but important part of the publishing process, and we are grateful to the scientists who prompted the re-examination of the data," the statement reads. 

Despite the retraction, other studies have suggested a link between hearing and dementia. 

One study of US Medicare beneficiaries found a 61% higher dementia prevalence in those with moderate to severe hearing loss compared to those with normal hearing.

As reported by Medscape Medical News, in this research, even mild hearing loss was associated with increased dementia risk, although it was not statistically significant, and use of hearing aids was tied to a 32% decrease in dementia prevalence. 

In addition, a large meta-analysis showed that hearing aids significantly reduce the risk for cognitive decline and dementia and even improve short-term cognitive function in individuals with hearing loss.