Cognitive function + hearing loss: knowing what you can do.
We found this well researched, scholarly medical article worth a read, particularly for any individuals who’d welcome a thorough understanding of the link between hearing loss, dementia, hearing health technology and appropriate audiological care.
Given the evidence emerging regarding the association between hearing loss and cognitive decline/dementia, there has been increasing interest in determining whether hearing interventions could impact cognitive function in terms of delaying the onset of dementia, minimising cognitive decline, or even reversing cogni- tive changes in the brain due to hearing loss. While a recent sys- tematic review concluded that there is still controversy about the effects of hearing aid use on cognition (Sanders et al. 2021), a prior meta-analysis investigating the effects of hearing aid use on cognitive decline suggested a significant positive effect of hearing aid use (Taljaard et al. 2016). Similarly, the reviews and meta- analyses conducted by the Lancet Commissions (Livingston et al. 2020; Livingston et al. 2017) have suggested that given the long follow-up times of 9–17 years in the prospective studies included, hearing aid use is more likely to be protective of cognition, rather than that people who are developing dementia are less likely to use hearing aids. In both meta-analyses, three cohort studies met the inclusion criteria of following cognitively healthy people at baseline, having at least a 5-year follow-up period, measuring hearing loss behaviourally, having incident dementia as an outcome, and adjusting for age and cardiovascular risk fac- tors as potential confounding factors.
Read the full article here.
The above is an excerpt from this study, published in the International Journal of Audiology:
Julia Sarant, Ulrike Lemke, Nathalie Giroud, Sigrid Scherpiet & Barbara Weinstein (18 Oct 2023): Promoting hearing and cognitive health in audiologic rehabilitation for the well-being of older adults, International Journal of Audiology, DOI: 10.1080/14992027.2023.2260099