Hearing loss has been identified as a potentially modifiable risk for dementia. This discussion paper reviews studies examining the impact of hearing loss interventions on cognitive decline and incident cognitive impairment, identified the challenges for research on the cognitive impacts of hearing interventions, and the likely benefits of hearing interventions for healthy aging and mental well-being.Supplementary InformationThe online version of this article (10.1007/s00391-023-02178-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.