Why Consider a Baseline Hearing Test at Age 50?

You probably know your blood pressure, cholesterol, and other important health numbers. By age 50, there’s another baseline worth knowing: your hearing.

Hearing changes can happen gradually, making them easy to overlook. A baseline hearing test around age 50 shows your hearing today and gives you something to compare with future results. It may also identify hearing loss before it noticeably affects conversations and everyday activities.

And increasingly, research suggests that hearing health is connected to cognitive health and healthy aging.

Hearing Loss and Cognitive Health

Hearing loss is one of the potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia identified by the 2024 Lancet Commission on dementia prevention. Research has also found an association between hearing loss and an increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

Researchers are still working to understand this relationship fully. Hearing loss does not mean that someone will develop dementia, and dementia has many contributing factors. However, researchers can identify and treat hearing loss.

One of the most important studies to examine whether treating hearing loss could make a difference was the ACHIEVE randomized controlled trial. The study followed adults aged 70 to 84 with untreated hearing loss. Across the full study population, the hearing intervention did not reduce three-year cognitive decline compared with a health education program. However, among participants who were at increased risk for cognitive decline, those who received hearing aids and hearing counseling experienced approximately 48% less cognitive decline over three years.

Hearing loss has also been associated with other aspects of healthy aging. A study of hearing loss and falls found that greater hearing loss was associated with increased odds of falling.

Why Consider a Hearing Test at Age 50?

You don’t need to wait until you’re struggling to hear to have your hearing checked.

A hearing evaluation around age 50 can:

• Establish a baseline for comparison as you get older
• Detect hearing changes you may not have noticed
• Help determine whether additional monitoring is appropriate
• Provide an opportunity to address hearing loss earlier if it is found
• Think of it as another piece of information about your health as you move through midlife and beyond.

What Happens During a Hearing Evaluation?

A hearing evaluation is noninvasive and measures how well you hear different sounds and frequencies. An audiologist can explain your results, identify whether hearing loss is present, and recommend next steps when appropriate.

If your hearing is normal, you’ll have a useful baseline for the future. If hearing loss is detected, you can talk with your audiologist about monitoring, communication strategies, and treatment options.

Make Hearing Part of Your Health Picture

If you pay attention to the numbers and screenings that help you stay healthy as you age, hearing deserves a place on that list. Even if you haven’t noticed a change, a hearing test around age 50 can establish a useful baseline for the years ahead.

Hearing is connected to much more than communication. Paying attention to it in midlife can support cognitive health, independence, and quality of life as you age.

Let’s Talk

Boulder Medical Center audiologists provide comprehensive hearing evaluations for adults in Boulder and Louisville. If you’re 50 or older and have never had a baseline hearing test, consider making hearing part of your preventive health routine.

Learn more about BMC Audiology and schedule an appointment

Sources

• Livingston G, et al. Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet Standing Commission. Lancet. 2024;404(10452):572–628. 2024 Lancet Commission
• Livingston G, et al. Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission. Lancet. 2020;396(10248):413–446. 2020 Lancet Commission
• Lin FR, Metter EJ, O’Brien RJ, Resnick SM, Zonderman AB, Ferrucci L. Hearing loss and incident dementia. Arch Neurol. 2011;68(2):214–220
• Lin FR, Yaffe K, Xia J, et al. Hearing loss and cognitive decline in older adults. JAMA Intern Med. 2013;173(4):293–299
• Lin FR, Pike JR, Albert MS, et al. Hearing intervention versus health education control to reduce cognitive decline (ACHIEVE): a randomized controlled trial. Lancet. 2023;402(10404):786–797. ACHIEVE trial
• Lin FR, Ferrucci L. Hearing loss and falls among older adults in the United States. Arch Intern Med. 2012;172(4):369–371