Yes. Hearing loss and vision loss often occur together in older adults, and having both is linked to a higher risk of dementia. The overlap comes mostly from shared aging and shared risk factors. A few rare genetic conditions, such as Usher syndrome, affect both senses directly. The good news is that both losses can often be treated.
How Common Is Losing Both?
Combined hearing and vision loss is called dual sensory impairment. Using data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study, researchers found that 3.1% of older adults overall had it, and that prevalence rose with age, affecting about 1 in 7 adults aged 90 or older, as reported in this abstract on PubMed Central.
A related study of Medicare beneficiaries reported that 14.9% of adults aged 90 or older had functional dual sensory impairment. Its authors note that more than 1 in 10 adults aged 80 or older have concurrent hearing and vision impairment, per the full paper. Earlier work using objective tests in a nationally representative sample of US adults is described in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Why the Two Often Travel Together
Aging is the biggest reason. The tiny structures of the inner ear and the lens and retina of the eye all change over time, so it is not surprising that both senses decline in the same people. Our articles on how the aging retina changes and cataracts cover the eye side.
Shared risk factors play a part too. A co-author of one dual sensory impairment study told UPI that dual sensory impairment and dementia share many risk factors, including older age, heart disease, smoking, and alcohol consumption, per UPI’s report. See our guide to smoking and eye health.
Genetic Causes: Usher Syndrome
For some people, the link is inherited. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders describes Usher syndrome as the most common condition affecting both hearing and vision. Its major symptoms are deafness or hearing loss and an eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa, and most affected children are born with moderate to profound hearing loss, depending on the type, per the NIDCD.
It is rare, and the vision changes often begin with trouble seeing at night. Genetic testing and a team of specialists help families manage it.
The Dementia Connection
Each sensory loss is already tied to dementia on its own. The 2024 Lancet Commission lists hearing loss among its risk factors and added untreated vision loss, as described in the Commission’s 2024 report.
Having both appears to raise the stakes further. In the Medicare study, dual sensory impairment was associated with a 50% increased seven-year dementia risk compared with no impairment, according to the PubMed Central abstract. These findings show association, not proof that sensory loss causes dementia.
Why Losing Both Is Harder
A person with only one impaired sense can lean on the other. The Medicare study authors note that dual sensory impairment may be especially difficult because sensory substitution, such as using hearing to make up for reduced vision, is harder to employ.
Day-to-day life becomes harder in practical ways: following conversations, reading lips, reading menus, navigating a crowded room. Communication tools and good lighting can help.
Heart disease and smoking appear on the list of shared risk factors, which suggests that healthy circulation could matter for both senses. The studies cited here do not prove that protecting your circulation prevents either loss. Our guide to blood pressure and eye health covers the eye side of that connection.
Treating Both Matters
Because hearing loss and vision loss are often correctable, treating them is among the most practical things older adults can do. The Lancet Commission found that treating hearing loss and depression decreases dementia risk. Glasses, cataract surgery, and hearing aids can be life-changing.
The study authors suggested that rehabilitation for multiple sensory impairments may be worth considering in efforts to reduce dementia risk. If you have trouble with one sense, have the other checked too.
Steps You Can Take Now
Schedule both an eye exam and a hearing test, and report any change to your doctor. Keep your glasses current and your lighting bright. Sit where you can see the speaker’s face during conversations, and ask people to face you when they speak.
Our guide to eye exams as you age explains what an exam covers. Treating one sense does not replace caring for the other.
