APOE4: Beat the Odds

Hearing Loss and APOE4: The Dementia Risk Nobody Checks

Sep 21, 202625:07

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Originally published on YouTube on 27 July 2026.

Original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEfFx-m_Ppc

Hearing loss is easy to overlook when you're focused on ApoB, glucose, sleep and training. In this episode I walk through the dementia evidence, the ACHIEVE trial, what effective hearing aids change, and the four-step hearing plan I'd run myself.

I'm Kevin. I'm a Doctor of Pharmacy and I carry two copies of APOE4.

RESOURCES

Apply to join Phoenix: https://apoe4.link/Hear

Essential APOE4 Guide: https://apoe4.link/HearG

Weekly Newsletter: https://apoe4.link/HearN

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction

03:32 Chapter 1: How big this actually is

05:21 Does Your Genotype Get You Out of It?

06:27 Using DNA to Test Cause

08:24 Chapter 2: How your ears drag your brain down

08:40 Road One: Effortful Listening

09:42 Road Two: It Takes the Room

11:08 Roads Three and Four: Cause, Catalyst, or Consequence

13:14 Chapter 3: Does fixing it work, and how?

13:25 The Trial That Looked Like a Failure

17:36 Effectiveness Is the Whole Game

19:19 The four-step hearing protocol

20:59 Chapter 4: The honest caveat, and what to do anyway

21:11 The Study That Complicates Everything

22:48 What Happens if I’m Wrong

24:17 Conclusion

STUDIES

1. Lin FR et al., 2023, Lancet (ACHIEVE RCT): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10529382/

2. Pike JR et al., 2025, Alzheimer's & Dementia (ACHIEVE, risk-stratified): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12078761/

3. Jiang F et al., 2026, Cell Reports Medicine: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13198310/

4. Liang Z et al., 2021, Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8295986/

5. Jiang F et al., 2024, BMC Medicine: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11542226/

6. Levett BA et al., 2025, Journal of Neurology: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12084262/

7. Venkatesh S et al., 2026, Journals of Gerontology B: https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaf276

8. Zanin J et al., 2026, JAMA Otolaryngology: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13220155/

9. Shulman LM et al., 2026, BMJ Open (ARCH protocol): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13202049/

10. Lancet Commission 2024: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(24)01296-0

This is education, not medical advice. I'm telling you what the research shows and what I do as a carrier.

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