Hearing problems may appear a decade before early-onset Alzheimer's

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 9 Nov, 14:49 · Archive

Hearing problems including tinnitus and hearing loss may appear up to ten years before early-onset Alzheimer's diagnosis, according to research from the University of Oulu and the University of Eastern Finland. The researchers examined medical records of 407 people diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease before age 65 and compared them with over 4,000 similar adults without neurodegenerative disease, reviewing health conditions recorded up to 15 years before diagnosis.

Between six and ten years before Alzheimer's diagnosis, 4.7% of those who later developed the disease had recorded ear, nose and throat conditions, compared with 2.1% in the comparison group, making these conditions more than twice as common among those who went on to develop the disease. The researchers also found that other health problems became more common in the five years before diagnosis, including depression, dizziness, headaches, thyroid problems and epilepsy.

Hearing problems are common and can be caused by several different conditions, so having tinnitus or hearing loss does not necessarily mean someone will develop Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's Society notes that hearing loss during middle age has been linked to an increased risk of dementia, though the reasons remain unclear.

How it is being reported

• 9 Early Dementia Red Flags That Have Nothing To Do With Memory LossDementia is believed to affect almost a million people in the UK, though Alzheimer’s Society shared that “more than a third of people with the condition do not have a diagnosis”. In fact, one University College London study found that it typically takes 3.5 years to diagnose dementia after symptoms begin. For those with early-onset dementia (that which occurs before the age of 65), this figure rises to 4.1 years. And with one in 10 UK adults unable to name a single symptom of dementia, it’s worth remembering that its early symptoms can involve much more than memory loss – though this remains…HuffPost UK · 9 Nov, 10:38
• Alzheimer’s symptom ‘starts 10 years before memory loss’ reveals studyA new Alzheimer's study has found that one symptom may appear years before memory difficulties in people diagnosed before 65.Daily Express · 9 Nov, 07:46

In this story: University of Oulu · University of Eastern Finland · Alzheimer's Society

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