Project description:The aim of this study was to compare elderly individuals who are hearing impaired but inexperienced in using hearing aids (hearing aid non-users; HA-NU) with their aided counterparts (hearing aid users; HA-U) across various auditory and non-auditory measures in order to identify differences that might be associated with the low hearing aid uptake rate. We have drawn data of 72 HA-NU and 139 HA-U with a mild-to-moderate hearing loss, and matched these two groups on the degree of hearing impairment, age, and sex. First, HA-NU and HA-U were compared across 65 auditory, cognitive, health-specific, and socioeconomic test measures as well as measures assessing technology commitment. Second, a logistic regression approach was performed to identify relevant predictors for using hearing aids. Finally, we conducted a sensitivity analysis for the matching approach. Group comparisons indicated that HA-NU perceive their hearing problem as less severe than their aided counterparts. Furthermore, HA-NU showed worse technology commitment and lower socioeconomic status than HA-U. The logistic regression revealed self-reported hearing performance, technology commitment, and the socioeconomic and health status as the most important predictors for using hearing aids.
Project description:Objective:The main objective of this study was to explore the impact of hearing impairment on psychological distress and subjective well-being in older adults with hearing impairment. Methods:The study with cross sectional research design was conducted in three public sector hospitals of Lahore, from February 2017 to June 2017. Participants of the study were adults aged 50-90 years and with hearing impairment, selected through non-probability sampling technique. Demographic Information sheet, Kessler psychological distress scale by Kessler, Mroczek. in 1992 and Satisfaction with life scale by Diener, Emmons, Larsen, Griffin in 1985 were used for data collection. SPSS 21 was used to analyze the data. Results:There were 200 participants with age ranged from 53 to 89 years (M= 65.92, SD= 9.70). Of the total, 100 (50%) subjects were men and 100 (50%) were women. Significant gender differences were found in psychological distress, with men reflecting more symptoms of psychological distress (p<0.01), whereas non-significant gender differences were found in case of subjective well-being (p>0.05). Moreover, psychological distress was observed as a predictor of subjective well-being (p<0.01). One-way analysis of variance revealed insignificant differences of psychological distress and subjective well-being across three levels of hearing impairment. Conclusion:Early diagnosis and rehabilitation of age-related hearing loss improves the overall quality of life of older adults living with hearing impairment.
Project description:BackgroundHearing impairment is prevalent among older adults and has been identified as a risk factor for cognitive impairment and dementia. We evaluated the association of hearing impairment with long-term cognitive decline among community-dwelling older adults.MethodsA population-based longitudinal study of adults not using hearing aids who had hearing acuity and cognitive function assessed in 1992-1996, and were followed for a maximum of 24 years with up to five additional cognitive assessments. Hearing acuity was categorized based on pure-tone average (PTA) thresholds: normal (PTA ≤ 25 dB), mild impairment (PTA > 25-40 dB), moderate/severe impairment (PTA > 40 dB).ResultsOf 1,164 participants (mean age 73.5 years, 64% women), 580 (49.8%) had mild hearing impairment and 196 (16.8%) had moderate/severe hearing impairment. In fully adjusted models, hearing impairment was associated with steeper decline on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) (mild impairment β = -0.04, p = .01; moderate/severe impairment β = -0.08, p = .002) and Trails B (mild impairment β = 1.21, p = .003; moderate/severe impairment β = 2.16, p = .003). Associations did not differ by sex or apolipoprotein E (APOE) ϵ4 status and were not influenced by social engagement. The MMSE-hearing association was modified by education: mild hearing impairment was associated with steeper decline on the MMSE among participants without college education but not among those with college education. Moderate/severe hearing impairment was associated with steeper MMSE decline regardless of education level.ConclusionsHearing impairment is associated with accelerated cognitive decline with age, and should be screened for routinely. Higher education may provide sufficient cognitive reserve to counter effects of mild, but not more severe, hearing impairment.
Project description:Background and objectivesHearing loss is the largest potentially modifiable risk factor for dementia. Early evaluation and intervention are crucial for older adults with cognitive impairment. However, pure-tone audiometry (PTA), the gold standard, may have limitations. This study reviewed auditory tests for detecting hearing loss in this population, comparing to PTA.Materials and methodsFollowing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we conducted a systematic review in PubMed, Scopus, and Embase. Ten studies (1,071 participants) comparing auditory tests and PTA in patients with dementia and mild cognitive impairment were included.ResultsElectrophysiological and behavioral tests demonstrated strong correlation and accurate hearing impairment detection compared to PTA. Conversely, self-reported assessment showed weaker correlations when aligned with hearing thresholds.ConclusionsThis study highlights the potential of electrophysiological and behavioral auditory tests in detecting hearing impairment in older adults with cognitive impairment, emphasizing the need for further research to develop practical screening protocols for this vulnerable population.
Project description:Hearing impairment in older adults is independently associated in longitudinal studies with accelerated cognitive decline and incident dementia, and in cross-sectional studies, with reduced volumes in the auditory cortex. Whether peripheral hearing impairment is associated with accelerated rates of brain atrophy is unclear. We analyzed brain volume measurements from magnetic resonance brain scans of individuals with normal hearing versus hearing impairment (speech-frequency pure tone average>25 dB) followed in the neuroimaging substudy of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging for a mean of 6.4 years after the baseline scan (n=126, age 56-86 years). Brain volume measurements were performed with semi-automated region-of-interest (ROI) algorithms, and brain volume trajectories were analyzed with mixed-effect regression models adjusted for demographic and cardiovascular factors. We found that individuals with hearing impairment (n=51) compared to those with normal hearing (n=75) had accelerated volume declines in whole brain and regional volumes in the right temporal lobe (superior, middle, and inferior temporal gyri, parahippocampus, p<.05). These results were robust to adjustment for multiple confounders and were consistent with voxel-based analyses, which also implicated right greater than left temporal regions. These findings demonstrate that peripheral hearing impairment is independently associated with accelerated brain atrophy in whole brain and regional volumes concentrated in the right temporal lobe. Further studies investigating the mechanistic basis of the observed associations are needed.
Project description:ObjectivesHearing impairment can have major impacts on behavior, educational attainment, social status, and quality of life. In congenital hypothyroidism, the incidence of hearing impairment reaches 35-50%, while in acquired hypothyroidism there is a reported incidence of 25%. Despite this, knowledge of the pathogenesis, incidence and severity of hearing impairment remains greatly lacking. The aim of our study was to evaluate hearing in patients with acquired hypothyroidism.Methods30 patients with untreated and newly diagnosed peripheral hypothyroidism (H) and a control group of 30 healthy probands (C) were enrolled in the study. Biochemical markers were measured, including median iodine urine concentrations (IUC) µg/L. The hearing examination included a subjective complaint assessment, otomicroscopy, tympanometry, transitory otoacoustic emission (TOAE), tone audiometry, and brainstem auditory evoked potential (BERA) examinations. The Mann-Whitney U test, Fisher's Exact test and multivariate regression were used for statistical analysis.ResultsThe H and C groups had significantly different thyroid hormone levels (medians with 95% CI) TSH mU/L 13.3 (8.1, 19.3) vs. 1.97 (1.21, 2.25) p = 0 and fT4 pmol/L 10.4 (9.51, 11.1) vs. 15 (13.8, 16.7) p = 0. The groups did not significantly differ in age 39 (34, 43) vs. 41 (36,44) p = 0.767 and IUC 142 (113, 159) vs. 123 (101, 157) p = 0.814. None of the hearing examinations showed differences between the H and C groups: otomicroscopy (p = 1), tympanometry (p = 1), TOAE (p = 1), audiometry (p = 0.179), and BERA (p = 0.505).ConclusionsWe did not observe any hearing impairment in adults with acquired hypothyroidism, and there were no associations found between hearing impairment and the severity of hypothyroidism or iodine status. However, some forms of hearing impairment, mostly mild, were very common in both studied groups.
Project description:Introduction: As the prevalence of age-related sensory impairment increases, more evidence emerges on the association between uni-sensory and cognitive impairment (CI) in older adults. However, the link between CI and concurrent hearing and vision impairment (referred to as dual sensory impairment/DSI) is not well-understood, and this combined effect may be additive or multiplicative. Moreover, the existing evidence on CI in older adults with DSI is scattered and limited. Through this systematic scoping review, we aim to map existing evidence on CI in older adults with DSI, and to summarize what is known about the prevalence, incidence and risk factors of CI, and tools used to screen or assess CI in older adults with DSI. Methods and Analysis: We will use the Joanna Briggs Institute framework to perform the review. Eleven databases [MEDLINE, CINAHL/EBSCO, EMBASE, Mednar, WorldWideScience, PsycEXTRA, OAIster, OpenGrey (SIGLE), Global Health, PsycINFO, and Web of Science] and clinical trial registries (ISRCTN Registry, WHO ICTRP, and ClinicalTrials.gov) will be searched. Study selection will be completed using Covidence, and data will be extracted using an a priori data extraction tool. To be included, studies had to be peer-reviewed, had older adults with DSI as the focal population, and are related to CI. Data will be presented using a narrative summary with emphasis on implications for future research and practice. Discussion: Reliable cognitive screening is of the utmost importance for prevention and treatment of CI within DSI population. The study findings will have significant implications for health services delivery and policy research. The summarized findings on the prevalence, incidence, associated risk factors, and CI screening and assessment tools will inform geriatric care. The review will also document knowledge gaps on CI in the DSI population and identify areas of interest for future studies. Ethics and Dissemination: The scoping study, being a review of existing documents, does not require ethics approval. The findings will be disseminated with relevant stakeholders using knowledge translation activities such as scientific presentations and publications. We intend to use the findings to conduct a Delphi study to evaluate which CI tools are suitable for older population with DSI.
Project description:PurposeIn this study, we investigated the emotion perceived by young listeners with normal hearing (YNH listeners) and older adults with hearing impairment (OHI listeners) when listening to speech produced conversationally or in a clear speaking style.MethodThe first experiment included 18 YNH listeners, and the second included 10 additional YNH listeners along with 20 OHI listeners. Participants heard sentences spoken conversationally and clearly. Participants selected the emotion they heard in the talker's voice using a 6-alternative, forced-choice paradigm.ResultsClear speech was judged as sounding angry and disgusted more often and happy, fearful, sad, and neutral less often than conversational speech. Talkers whose clear speech was judged to be particularly clear were also judged as sounding angry more often and fearful less often than other talkers. OHI listeners reported hearing anger less often than YNH listeners; however, they still judged clear speech as angry more often than conversational speech.ConclusionsSpeech spoken clearly may sound angry more often than speech spoken conversationally. Although perceived emotion varied between YNH and OHI listeners, judgments of anger were higher for clear speech than conversational speech for both listener groups.Supplemental materialshttps://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5170717.