Hearing Loss & Cognitive Decline: Mechanisms, Interventions, and Prevention

Background
Hearing loss is among the most prevalent and potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia across the life course. Beyond reduced audibility, hearing impairment can exacerbate cognitive load, limit social engagement, and accelerate neurobiological changes linked to cognitive decline. Yet, the causal pathways remain incompletely understood and likely multifactorial, spanning peripheral and central auditory dysfunction, neurodegeneration, cerebrovascular compromise, neuroinflammation, and psychosocial mechanisms such as isolation and depression. Despite this, midlife hearing loss is the largest modifiable risk factor for developing dementia. Clinical trials and real-world studies on hearing care, ranging from hearing aids and cochlear implants to auditory training and communication strategies, show promise but remain heterogeneous in design, timing, adherence, and outcomes. There is a pressing need to integrate mechanistic science with rigorous intervention research and implementation studies to clarify when, how, and for whom hearing interventions can modify dementia risk and trajectories.

Goal
This Research Topic aims to catalyze a cohesive, multidisciplinary evidence base linking auditory health to cognition across the spectrum of dementia. Our goals are to: (1) elucidate mechanistic pathways connecting hearing loss with cognitive decline and neuropsychiatric symptoms; (2) evaluate preventive and therapeutic effects of hearing-focused interventions across dementia types and stages; (3) harmonize measurement and reporting to improve comparability and translation; and (4) advance equitable, scalable models of hearing care within cognitive health pathways. By uniting neuroscience, otology and audiology, geriatrics, psychiatry, neurology, rehabilitation, engineering, and public health, we seek to inform precision prevention and care.

Scope
We invite submissions addressing, but not limited to:

o Mechanistic studies (for example, auditory deprivation, central auditory processing, neural efficiency, neurovascular and inflammatory pathways, structural and functional brain changes).
o Epidemiology and lifecourse risk modeling, including comorbidities, polypharmacy, and sensory multimorbidity (vision and hearing).
o Clinical trials and pragmatic studies of hearing interventions (hearing aids, cochlear implants, remote microphones, auditory and cognitive training, communication partner training), including timing, adherence, and dose–response.
o Comparative effectiveness across dementia subtypes (Alzheimer’s disease, vascular, Lewy body, Parkinson’s disease dementia, frontotemporal dementia) and stages from preclinical to severe.
o Outcome harmonization: cognitive, functional, neuropsychiatric, quality of life, caregiver outcomes; biomarkers and neuroimaging; ecologically valid digital measures.
o Implementation science, health services, and cost-effectiveness; models integrating hearing care into memory clinics and primary care.
o Health equity, accessibility, and culturally adapted interventions; strategies for underserved and diverse populations.
o Technology-enabled solutions (teleaudiology, wearables, AI-driven fitting and monitoring) and ethical considerations.

Article types welcomed: Original Research, Systematic Reviews (including scoping, meta-analyses, and umbrella reviews), Brief Research Reports, Protocols, Case Reports, Data Reports, Methods, and Perspective or Opinion pieces. Submissions should clearly articulate implications for mechanism, intervention design, or prevention.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Hearing loss, cognitive decline, dementia risk, hearing interventions, auditory-cognitive mechanisms, neurodegeneration, sensory impairment, implementation science

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.