Why Hearing Health is the Next Frontier in the Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease

At eargym, we believe that the future of healthy ageing lies in proactive, preventative care. Yesterday, July 14th 2026, our Founder and CEO, Amanda Philpott, joined fellow Alzheimer’s Society Innovation alumni at the Houses of Parliament to address one of the most pressing public health challenges of our time: the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. We are incredibly grateful to Alan Chalmers from University of Warwick and Graeme Forth from Alzheimer's Society for inviting us to be part of this vital event.

Hosted by Sir Jeremy Wright KC MP, the event—"Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease: From today’s suggestions to tomorrow’s solutions"—brought together leaders from academia, the NHS, and pioneering healthtech startups to map out a more integrated future for brain health.

The Dementia Challenge: A Reactive System

The current reality of cognitive and sensory care is heavily reactive:

• The Scale: Over 1.5 billion people worldwide are already living with hearing loss, yet only 1 in 20 get their hearing checked in any given year (1).

• The Risk: An additional 1.1 billion young people (aged 12–35) are at risk of hearing damage due to a noisy world and headphone use (1).

• The Connection: Unaddressed hearing loss is one of the most significant, modifiable risk factors correlated with cognitive decline and dementia (2).

• The Cost: Beyond the profound human impact, unaddressed hearing loss and associated cognitive decline cost the global economy a staggering $980 billion annually (1).

Despite this, the average age of a first-time hearing aid wearer is 70, with individuals typically waiting up to a decade after first noticing symptoms to seek help (3). By the time sensory issues are addressed, valuable opportunities for cognitive preservation may have been missed.

Hearing as a Digital Biomarker

eargym is striving to change this paradigm by shifting care from episodic testing to continuous measurement, intervention, and learning. Rather than viewing hearing loss as an our isolated sensory issue, our work aims to treat hearing function as a vital digital biomarker for wider brain health.

By combining digital hearing checks with fun auditory training games on a single, accessible smartphone app, we aim to make brain health monitoring a seamless part of daily life. This philosophy of exploring innovative, non-invasive digital markers aligns closely with broader pioneering academic work on sensory detection pathways in neurodegenerative diseases (4).

Bridging the Gap from Innovation to Adoption

While presenting eargym’s journey to MPs and fellow innovators, Amanda highlighted a common hurdle facing many healthtech startups: translating brilliant UK research into widespread practice.

"The UK is outstanding at generating health innovation," Amanda noted. "Our next collective step is making sure we build faster, clearer pathways to bring these digital solutions directly to the people who need them most."

eargym is proud to be part of the Alzheimer's Society alumni network, advocating for the collaborative partnerships and supportive funding models required to turn pioneering ideas into everyday preventative care.

References

1. World Health Organization. (2021). World report on hearing. Geneva: World Health Organization.

2. Livingston G, Huntley J, Liu K et al. Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet standing Commission. The Lancet, 2024; 404, 572-628

3. Hearing Industries Association. (2022). MarkeTrak 2022: Hearing aid usage and trends. Washington, DC: HIA.

4. Zholzhanova, D., Arun, T., Asadipour, A., & Chalmers, A. (2026). Flavour perception in Alzheimer's disease: A systematic review of olfactory and gustatory assessment methods. The Journal of Aging Research and Lifestyle, 15, Article 100044. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarlif.2025.100044