Sure, most of us aren’t twenty years old anymore, but that doesn’t mean we need to just sit by and let our hearing and minds go out the window, too. We may not have perfect figures anymore or be able to leap buildings in a single bound as we could when we were young. However, we can avoid untreated hearing loss and, in many cases, prevent or limit dementia.

Researchers conducted brain scans and other measures of cognitive decline and have determined that a reduction in stimuli – such as hearing loss or vision loss – may contribute to brain atrophy and, in turn, cognitive decline.

Even untreated mild hearing loss has been shown to double the odds you’ll get dementia. If you have moderate hearing loss, your risk triples, and it’s even worse if you have severe hearing loss and don’t get treatment–you’re five times more likely to get dementia.

Untreated hearing loss also increases the risk of depression, anxiety, falls, and other health issues.

And we’re all at risk. Hearing loss is rising across all demographics (even people in their 20s) and is expected to grow to more than 580 million worldwide by 2050. Between noise pollution, increased use of headphones and earbuds, and genetic factors, we should all get regular hearing tests as part of our annual health screenings.

Find out more hearing information on the American Hearing + Audiology blog.