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Hearing loss versus normal

The comparison is any hearing loss versus normal. Whether hearing aids lower the risk of death is unproven.

Where you stand

Tan 2022 mixed self-report and audiometry and those sizes were similar. This comparison is binary. It does not grade mild versus moderate.

Each row is one study of death risk from hearing. The bright line is what that study found. The band around it is the range the data still supports — it fades where the evidence thins. Left of the centre line is lower risk.

what the study foundstill plausibleno change
any hearing loss vs normal hearing (self-report or audiometric, pooled)
Tan et al. 2022
13% higher
range 7–19% higher
self-reported hearing loss vs normal hearing (subgroup)
Jia et al. 2025
13% higher
range 6–20% higher
regular hearing aid use vs never (adults with hearing loss)
Choi et al. 2024
24% lower
range 5–40% lower

What it is

Any hearing loss versus normal. This comparison is binary. It does not grade mild versus moderate, and it does not assume hearing aids lower the risk of death.

How it is modeled (not scored)

Technical notes

The curve uses Tan 2022 (26 studies, 1,213,756 people): all-cause mortality HR 1.13 (1.07–1.19) for any hearing loss vs normal. That pool mixes self-report and audiometry; Tan says those sizes were similar. Jia 2025 is larger (overall 1.21) but its self-report subgroup is 1.13 (1.06–1.20) — the same number as the curve. Audiometric Jia is 1.28; Contrera’s graded NHANES mild/mod+ is the severity shape this binary UI flattens. Tan: unknown whether hearing interventions mitigate excess mortality. Choi 2024 regular-aid all-cause mortality 0.76 is one observational cohort, not a trial.

How to improve it

  • Get a baseline hearing screen
  • Wear hearing protection around loud noise
  • If you have loss, talk with a clinician about correction — this score does not assume aids lower the risk of death

What the studies found

EndpointGradeFinding
All-cause mortality (any hearing loss vs normal)C
1.13x (Tan 2022)
Technical notes
Curve: any hearing loss vs normal, all-cause mortality HR 1.13 (1.07–1.19), 26 studies / 1.21 million. Mixed self-report and audiometry; those sizes were similar. Binary UI.
All-cause mortality (self-reported hearing loss)C
Jia self-report is also 1.13
Technical notes
Jia 2025 overall all-cause mortality 1.21 (36 cohorts). Table 2 self-report subgroup is 1.13 (1.06–1.20) — the user’s answer mode. Audiometric subgroup is 1.28. The overall 1.21 does not apply to this dropdown.
All-cause mortality (regular hearing-aid use)C
Aids vs death unproven (Tan 2022 / Choi 2024)
Technical notes
Tan: unknown whether hearing interventions mitigate excess mortality. Choi 2024 regular-aid all-cause mortality 0.76 is one observational cohort with residual confounding, not a trial. Marker, not a treatment effect.
All-cause mortality (hearing-loss severity category)C
Graded Severity, Mostly Not Significant (Contrera 2015)
Technical notes
NHANES cohort of 1,666 adults 70+: fully adjusted, mild hearing loss (25–<40 dB) carried all-cause mortality HR 1.21 (0.81–1.81, not significant) and moderate-or-worse (≥40 dB) carried HR 1.39 (0.97–2.01, not significant). Only the age-adjusted moderate-or-worse estimate reached significance, at HR 1.54 (1.08–2.18) — the severity gradient this calculator’s binary yes/no flattens.
All-cause mortality (hearing loss, age/sex-adjusted)C
Effect Vanishes After Adjustment (Karpa 2010)
Technical notes
Blue Mountains Hearing Study, 2,956 adults 49+ with hearing loss defined as PTA >25 dB: the age/sex-adjusted all-cause mortality HR was 1.39 (1.11–1.79), but this lost significance after full multivariable adjustment. A structural-equation pathway model found hearing loss linked to mortality mainly through walking disability, cognitive decline, and self-rated health (indirect HR 2.58, 1.64–4.05).
All-cause mortality (per 10 dB hearing loss)B
1.20 in Health ABC, Continuous to 1.14 Per 10 dB (Genther 2015)
Technical notes
Health ABC cohort of 1,958 adults 70+ with audiometric hearing loss (better-ear PTA >25 dB): all-cause mortality HR was 1.20 (1.03–1.41) after adjusting for demographics and cardiovascular risk factors. Modeled continuously, each 10 dB of hearing loss up to 35 dB carried HR 1.14 (1.00–1.29).

What argues against this

Contrera 2015 (NHANES, n=1,666 adults 70+) is the strongest opposing evidence: fully adjusted, neither mild (HR 1.21, 0.81–1.81) nor moderate-or-worse (HR 1.39, 0.97–2.01) hearing loss reached statistical significance, and only the age-adjusted moderate-or-worse estimate did (HR 1.54, 1.08–2.18). That undercuts the certainty, though not the direction, of the pooled binary HR 1.13 this calculator uses — a graded, fully adjusted single cohort found the association could wash out.

Last reviewed 12 October 2026

Sources

6 cited
  1. Tan et al. (2022) — JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery
    Associations of Hearing Loss and Dual Sensory Loss With Mortality: A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, and Meta-regression of 26 Observational Studies With 1,213,756 Participants
    View source
  2. Jia et al. (2025) — PLOS ONE
    Hearing loss and its association with all-cause and cause-specific mortality: a meta-analysis of cohort studies
    View source
  3. Contrera et al. (2015) — JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery
    Association of Hearing Impairment and Mortality in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
    View source
  4. Choi et al. (2024) — The Lancet Healthy Longevity
    Association between hearing aid use and mortality in adults with hearing loss in the USA: a mortality follow-up study of a cross-sectional cohort
    View source
  5. Karpa et al. (2010) — Annals of Epidemiology
    Associations between hearing impairment and mortality risk in older persons: the Blue Mountains Hearing Study
    View source
  6. Genther et al. (2015) — The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
    Association of hearing impairment and mortality in older adults
    View source

Not part of your score
Hearing is tracked here for its research. It does not count toward the 8-marker MarkerScore. See what does in the calculator.
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Educational content only — not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Not a medical device; not FDA evaluated. Consult a qualified healthcare professional about your own health, and call emergency services for urgent symptoms. Full medical disclaimer →