Key points

The association between tinnitus and dementia is statistical, not directly biological or causal.

Tinnitus can cause a form of cognitive impairment, but it is distinct from early dementia.

Tinnitus-related brain fog reflects reversible shifts in neural activity, not structural decline.

Treating the neurological drivers of tinnitus reduces loudness and restores cognitive function.

Dementia is one of the great fears of aging, especially as rates continue to climb in many countries. So when headlines suggest that tinnitus—a condition affecting nearly one in five adults—may be linked to dementia, people predictably become anxious. I often meet patients more concerned about the fear of cognitive decline than of the ringing itself. In many cases, this fear alone makes their tin

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