Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of hearing loss causing dementia.

The 2024 update of the Lancet Commission suggests that approximately 45% of global dementia cases are estimated to be potentially preventable or delayable. One of the 14 risk factors identified by the Lancet Commission for dementia is hearing loss.

The Department delivers a range of research into dementia via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). For example, the NIHR is currently funding the ENHANCE research programme, which is developing and testing an intervention app to see its effects on cognition, risk, quality of life, and affordability. The ENHANCE app seeks to address ten risk factors for dementia, including hearing loss. In the long-term, the researchers will examine health records to see if the app can reduce dementia rates.

The Lancet Commission 2024 and further research will help inform Government action on dementia going forward.