[Purpose] Research related to dementia has gained momentum in South Korea and studies
have found that the auditory sense affects dementia. This study aims to examine the
relationship between the decline in hearing function and the overall cognitive function
among the elderly. [Subjects and Methods] Eighty-two older adults aged 65–90 years (mean
age: 79.3, SD: 5.2) participated. The Korean Mini-Mental State Examination was used to
assess cognitive function. Further, to assess the hearing function, pure-tone audiometry
was performed prior to the cognitive function test. We used a paired t-test and Pearson’s
correlation test for the analysis. [Results] Generally, the higher the frequency band, the
more hearing loss was identified among the elderly. In addition, the difference in hearing
between both ears was significant; particularly, hearing loss in the right ear was
significantly higher than that in the left. Cognitive function was not related to age,
however, the correlation between cognitive function and hearing loss in the right ear was
statistically significant. [Conclusion] Hearing loss influences cognitive function among
the elderly.
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