Hearing and Cognition in the Elderly

Gennis, Virginia M.; Garry, Philip J.; Haaland, Kathleen Y.; Yeo, Ronald A.; Goodwin, James S.

doi:10.1001/archinte.1991.00400110105021

Cited by 75 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 21 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Although prior cross‐sectional and longitudinal studies have suggested an association between hearing impairment and cognitive decline in persons with dementia or in institutionalized elderly patients, 15,33,34 this association has not been reported in older persons without dementia 35,36 . Similar to the findings in this report, another study did not identify hearing impairment as a risk factor for cognitive decline (measured using the Wechsler Memory Scale and Jacobs Cognitive Screening Test) over 5 years for a cohort of healthy elderly men and women 37 . The exclusion of subjects with major medical illnesses or regular prescription medications limited the significance of this finding.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Vision Impairment and Combined Vision and Hearing Impairment Predict Cognitive and Functional Decline in Older Women

Lin

Gutierrez

Stone

et al. 2004

J American Geriatrics Society

380

364

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

OBJECTIVES:To determine the association between vision and hearing impairment and subsequent cognitive and functional decline in community-residing older women. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Four metropolitan areas of the United States. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 6,112 women aged 69 and older participating in the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF) between 1992 and 1994. MEASUREMENTS: Five thousand three hundred fortyfive participants had hearing measured, 1,668 had visual acuity measured, and 1,636 had both measured. Visual impairment was defined as corrected vision worse than 20/40. Hearing impairment was defined as the inability to hear a tone of 40 dB or greater at 2,000 hertz. Participants completed the modified Mini-Mental State Examination and/or a functional status assessment at baseline and follow-up. Cognitive and functional decline were defined as the amount of decline from baseline to follow-up that exceeded the observed average change in scores by at least 1 standard deviation. RESULTS: About one-sixth (15.7%) of the sample had cognitive decline; 10.1% had functional decline. In multivariate models adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics and chronic conditions, vision impairment at baseline was associated with cognitive (odds ratio (OR) 5 1.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) 5 1.21-2.61) and functional (OR 5 1.79, 95% CI 5 1.15-2.79) decline. Hearing impairment was not associated with cognitive or functional decline. Combined impairment was associated with the greatest odds for cognitive (OR 5 2.19, 95% CI 5 1.26-3.81) and functional (OR 5 1.87, 95% CI 5 1.01-3.47) decline. CONCLUSION: Sensory impairment is associated with cognitive and functional decline in older women. Studies are needed to determine whether treatment of vision and hearing impairment can decrease the risk for cognitive and functional decline. J Am Geriatr Soc 52: [1996][1997][1998][1999][2000][2001][2002] 2004. Key words: vision impairment; hearing impairment; cognitive status; functional status; aged V isual impairment and hearing loss are chronic and potentially treatable conditions that disproportionately affect the elderly. Difficulty seeing, even in those with glasses, increases steadily with age, and is estimated at 4% of older persons aged 65 to 74 to 16% of those aged 80 to 84 in the United States.1 Similarly, it has been estimated that more than half of those aged 60 and older experience hearing impairment.2 Undertreatment of sensory impairment in the elderly is common; uncorrected refractive error and unoperated age-related cataract together account for more than half of all visual impairment in older persons, 1 and up to 70% of hearing impairment in the elderly is not treated with hearing aids.3 Undoubtedly, these correctable deficits affect daily activities, such as reading or communicating with others, and global quality of life. 4There is growing evidence that sensory deficits in the elderly may have a profound effect on multiple health outcomes. Vision 5-9 and hearing 7,8 impairment have been associ...

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Vision Impairment and Combined Vision and Hearing Impairment Predict Cognitive and Functional Decline in Older Women

Lin

Gutierrez

Stone

et al. 2004

J American Geriatrics Society

380

364

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In contrast Bazargan et al [5] found poor hearing to be associated with a lower level of psychological well-being. In contrast to our finding, some others did not find evidence of a major effect of hearing acuity on the quality of life of the elderly while others explained the effect to be due to accompanying visual impairment [25][26][27][28][29].…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Disability and Quality of Life among Elderly Persons with Self-Reported Hearing Impairment: Report from the Ibadan Study of Aging

Lasisi¹,

Gureje²

2013

IJOHNS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Despite a high prevalence of hearing impairment (HI) among the elderly, the effect on their quality of life (QOL) has not been well studied in this environment. Aim: To determine the prevalence of disability and profile of QOL among elderly persons (aged ≥65 years) with HI. Design of Study: Cross-sectional. Setting: Eight contiguousYoruba-speaking states in Nigeria. Methods: Face-to-face interviews of respondents selected using a multi-stage, stratified area probability sampling of households; HI was based on self report and observer confirmation and the QOL was measured with the World Health Organization brief version (WHOQOL-Bref). Results: The prevalence of disability in Activities of Daily Living (ADL) was 35.4% while it was 10.1% in Instrumental ADL. Prevalence increased significantly with increasing age (P = 0.05). Disability in ADL (P = 0.01), poor family interaction (P = 0.01), poor community involvement (P = 0.01) cognitive impairment (P = 0.05) and poor report of overall health (P = 0.05) were significantly more common among the elderly with HI than those without. No significant differences were found in regard to current depression or the likelihood of experiencing verbal, physical or emotional abuses. Logistic regression analyses adjusting for age, sex, chronic medical conditions and disability confirmed the salient effect of HI on the decrement in the physical domains (P = 0.05). Conclusion: HI is associated with high prevalence of disability and has adverse effect on the quality of life. This observation strengthens the need for hearing rehabilitation in the policy formulation on the care of the elderly in resource-poor settings.

show abstract

“…It may be that impairment of cognitive function in old age is directly linked to a diminished hearing capacity, 3 39 46 although this has been disputed. 47 One possibility is that the processes that lead to a decline in sensory ability lead to a decline in intellectual function, 3 but it has also been suggested that sensory impairment is a causative factor in the decrease in intelligence through a lack of sensory intellectual stimulation. 46 If there is pre-existing dementia, deafness can be associated with the presence of delusions, 2 possibly because patients with impaired cognitive capacity lack insight into the effect of the sensory impairment.…”

Section: Clinical Presentation and Wider Consequences Of Hearing Lossmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ageing and the auditory system

Howarth

Shone

2006

Postgraduate Medical Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There are a number of pathophysiological processes underlying age related changes in the auditory system. The effects of hearing loss can have consequences beyond the immediate loss of hearing, and may have profound effects on the functioning of the person. While a deficit in hearing can be corrected to some degree by a hearing aid, auditory rehabilitation requires much more than simply amplifying external sound. It is important that those dealing with elderly people are aware of all the issues involved in age related hearing loss.

show abstract

Hearing and Cognition in the Elderly

Cited by 75 publications

References 21 publications

Vision Impairment and Combined Vision and Hearing Impairment Predict Cognitive and Functional Decline in Older Women

Vision Impairment and Combined Vision and Hearing Impairment Predict Cognitive and Functional Decline in Older Women

Disability and Quality of Life among Elderly Persons with Self-Reported Hearing Impairment: Report from the Ibadan Study of Aging

Ageing and the auditory system

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About