Hearing aids can improve a person’s ability to hear — plus, they may reduce the risk of dementia, depression, and falls, a University of Michigan study found. Older adults who are newly diagnosed with hearing loss and use hearing aids have a lower risk for getting a diagnosis of dementia, depression, or anxiety for the first three years. They also have a decreased chance of experiencing fall-related injuries compared to those who don’t use hearing aids, according to the study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. About 40 million Trusted Source Americans have some type of hearing loss, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. This isn’t the first piece of research to confirm health benefits associated with hearing aid use. That said, there’s no evidence of a causal link between hearing aid use and preventing these health conditions. “Older people with hearing loss who wear hearing aids may be better educated or may socialize more, factors which are also associated with a reduced risk of dementia,” said Dr. David Loughrey, a research psychologist specializing in hearing and cognition. Of those with a diagnosis of hearing loss, only 12 percent of people under 69 use hearing aids.