Hearing Loss Is Associated With Decreased Nonverbal Intelligence in Rural Nepal

Abstract

Objective Evaluate the association between adolescent and young adult hearing loss and nonverbal intelligence in rural Nepal Study Design Cross-sectional assessment of hearing loss among a population cohort of adolescents and young adults Setting Sarlahi District, southern Nepal Patients 764 individuals aged 14–23 years Intervention Evaluation of hearing loss, defined by WHO criteria of pure-tone average (PTA) >25 decibels (0.5, 1, 2, 4 kHz), unilaterally and bilaterally Main Outcome Measure Nonverbal intelligence, measured by the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence, 3rd Edition (TONI-3) standardized score (mean 100; standard deviation (SD) 15) Results Nonverbal intelligence scores differed between participants with normal hearing and those with bilateral (p =0.04) but not unilateral (p =0.74) hearing loss. Demographic and socioeconomic factors including male sex, higher caste, literacy, education level, occupation reported as student, and ownership of a bicycle, watch, and latrine were strongly associated with higher nonverbal intelligence scores (all p <0.001). Subjects with bilateral hearing loss scored an average of 3.16 points lower (95% CI: −5.56, −0.75; p =0.01) than subjects with normal hearing after controlling for socioeconomic factors. There was no difference in nonverbal intelligence score based on unilateral hearing loss (0.97; 95% CI: −1.67, 3.61; p =0.47). Conclusions Nonverbal intelligence is adversely affected by bilateral hearing loss, even at mild hearing loss levels. Social and economic well being appear compromised in individuals with lower nonverbal intelligence test scores.

Early-auditory intervention in children with hearing loss and neurodevelopmental outcomes: cognitive, motor and language development

“…However, most research was conducted in school-aged children 23,24 and adolescents. 25,26 Martinez-Cruz et al 23 showed that children with unilateral severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss had significantly lower intelligence coefficients than healthy children. Emmett et al 26 reported that hearing loss in adolescents and young adults would be associated with decreased nonverbal intelligence.…”

“…25,26 Martinez-Cruz et al 23 showed that children with unilateral severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss had significantly lower intelligence coefficients than healthy children. Emmett et al 26 reported that hearing loss in adolescents and young adults would be associated with decreased nonverbal intelligence. Academic achievement of children with severe to profound hearing loss was significantly impaired relative to peers.…”

Child stunting is associated with weaker human capital among native Amazonians

“…For example, the early life stressors that led to stunting may have impaired attention, motivation, memory, or a combination of these factors (Aburto, Ramirez‐Zea, Neufeld, & Flores‐Ayala, ; Baker‐Henningham, Hamadani, Huda, & Grantham‐McGregor, ; Chang, Walker, Grantham‐McGregor, & Powell, ; Fernald & Grantham‐McGregor, ; Gardner, Grantham‐McGregor, & Himes, ). We also lacked information on vision and hearing loss in our cohorts, which would have hampered children's ability to accumulate human capital (Chua & Mitchell, ; Davis & Hind, ; Emmett et al, ; Lim et al, ; Sharma et al, ; Steward‐Brown, Haslum, & Butler, ; Teasdale & Sorensen, ). This did not bias our estimates of the associations between stunting and the outcomes that we considered, but understanding the pathways would be useful for directly addressing the underlying human capital deficits.…”

Factors Affecting the Writing Performance in Hearing and Deaf Children: An Insight into Regularities and Irregularities of the Arabic Orthographic System

“…Nonverbal intelligence measures have been shown to be important predictors of positive language outcomes in deaf children with cochlear implants (Cejas et al, 2018; Dawson et al, 2002; Meinzen-Derr et al, 2010; Phillips et al, 2014; Surowiecki et al, 2002). In addition, nonverbal intelligence was shown to be adversely affected by bilateral hearing loss, for instance (Emmett et al, 2015).…”