Age-related hearing loss: possible associations with Alzheimer’s disease

With the increasing aging of the population, there has been a growing focus on the association between age-related hearing loss (ARHL) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Given the extended latency period of AD, it has been assumed that mechanisms contributing to its pathogenesis may also contribute to ARHL. Abnormal deposition of beta-amyloid (Aβ) and tau protein in the brain serves as the primary etiological marker for AD, being produced long before the symptomatic onset of AD. The neurotoxicity induced by their unique oligomers not only exerts significant effects on the central nervous system but also exhibits similar impacts on certain peripheral organs. In this review, we analyze the factors leading to β-amyloid and tau production, explore their cascading effects and roles in AD progression, discuss the possible influence of auditory deprivation on cognitive functions, and investigate the potential causes of hearing loss by examining other peripheral organs in AD patients and model animals as examples. These findings provide further evidence supporting ARHL as an early indicator of AD.