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The silent risk factor: How hearing loss favours dementia

Further topics 14:41

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Hearing loss is the biggest controllable risk factor for dementia and is affecting more and more people. Neurobiologist Anne-Lise Giraud explains why hearing protection is also brain protection and what effect a new type of sound therapy could have.

Woman in black jacket sitting at a table

Anne-Lise Giraud ©Laurent Guiraud/Tamedia

Translated by an automated translation plugin.

The most important facts in brief:

  • Hearing loss can increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease by two and a half times - making it the most important controllable risk factor for cognitive decline.
  • Age-related hearing loss usually begins between the ages of 50 and 60, around a decade before the onset of dementia. Hearing aids should therefore be used much earlier.
  • The Institut Pasteur is researching sonotherapy with so-called "harsh sounds", which stimulate the entire brain and have already shown measurable positive effects in mice.
  • Compressed sounds in modern music and video calls are particularly damaging to the hearing because they do not allow the ear to rest.
  • According to the WHO, one in four people will be affected by hearing problems by 2050.

What happens in the brain when the ear weakens

The connection between hearing and dementia is more biological than has long been assumed. The temporal lobe, which is responsible for processing what we hear, is heavily supplied with blood. If hearing performance declines, blood flow in this region also decreases. This favours the accumulation of harmful proteins that are typical of Alzheimer's disease. Conversely, targeted stimulation of the auditory system can promote blood flow and support the removal of these deposits. This was explained by neurobiologist Anne-Lise Giraud, Director of the reConnect Institute at the Institut Pasteur, ahead of a specialist event taking place on 22 April at the Campus Santé of the Hôpital de La Tour in Geneva, organised in partnership with the SATW.

Stimulation instead of silence: therapy through sound

A promising approach is being pursued at her institute: stimulation with so-called harsh sounds. These are unpleasant to listen to, but activate the entire brain. They have already shown positive effects in animal experiments. Clinical studies on humans are still in the early stages, as the specific acoustic stimuli are still being patented.

Why young people should also pay attention to their hearing

Giraud also expressly warns of the risks for younger people. Those who develop hearing damage at an early age increase their risk of dementia over their entire lifespan. At birth, each ear has around 15,000 hair cells, the loss of which is irreversible. The fact that sounds are compressed in modern music and video calls is particularly problematic. This eliminates the resting phases for the auditory synapses and impairs the ear's natural protective reflex. The researcher advocates a quality label for headphones that reproduce less compressed sounds, as well as hearing tests at concert venues, comparable to defibrillators in public places.

Her message is that today's hearing health is tomorrow's cognitive health.

Original article (subscription): Tribune de Genève - "Entendre mal augmente le risque de maladie d'Alzheimer " - Interview with Anne-Lise Giraud by Caroline Zuercher, 17 April 2026.

Theme month: Health, innovation and competitiveness

This news is published as part of the theme month "Health, Innovation and Competitiveness", which takes place in the run-up to the SATW 2026 Annual Congress (21 May, Lugano).