Hearing aids could reduce risk of falling in seniors with hearing loss, study says
BOSTON - There may be an easy way for seniors with hearing loss to reduce their risk of falling - hearing aids.
Many older adults are terrified of falling because it can lead to significant disability and sometimes death. Those with hearing loss are almost two-and-a-half times more likely to fall than their normal hearing peers, but hearing aids may help.
Researchers at the University of Colorado found that adults with mild hearing loss who wore hearing aids cut their odds of falling in half, by even more if they used their hearing aids at least four hours a day. Scientists said our ability to hear, especially at high frequencies, tells us where we are in space and where objects are around us, in other words, echolocation.
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