Common and treatable ear conditions may be associated with a higher risk of dementia, according to new research.
A study from Columbia University investigated how middle-ear problems that may cause conductive hearing loss are linked to the brain disorder.
The study focused on three hearing loss conditions: cholesteatoma (an abnormal skin growth in the middle ear), eardrum perforation (a hole in the eardrum), and otosclerosis (abnormal bone changes in the middle ear), according to a press release.
After comparing dementia diagnoses in people with these conditions, the researchers found that cholesteatoma was linked to 1.77 times the odds of the cognitive disorder, and eardrum perforation was linked to more than twice the risk.
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