Hearing loss severity was linked with cognitive impairment in a study on middle-aged adults. But wearing hearing aids didn’t lower the odds for cognitive impairment, the data showed.
Based on the findings, authors of the report published Tuesday in JAMA Network Open say middle-aged adults with hearing loss should monitor their cognitive function.
Researchers evaluated data from 62,072 participants who were between the ages of 45 and 69. The team used audiometric tests and several cognitive impairment tests to assess cognitive function. Participants were from 21 preventive health centers located in France.
Overall, 49% of participants had normal hearing, 38% had mild hearing loss, 10% had disabling hearing loss and 3% used hearing aids. Participants with poorer hearing were more frequently men and older. They tended to have less education, higher body mass index, more comorbidities, more noise exposure at work, and had more frequent social and personal deprivation.
The proportion of participants with cognitive impairment was 34% in those using hearing aids and 37% in those not wearing hearing aids. Participants with mild hearing loss and disabling hearing loss had greater global cognitive impairment overall, the data showed. Specifically, participants with mild hearing loss had 10% greater odds for developing cognitive impairment, while those with disabling hearing loss had a 24% greater increase in odds.
The odds of cognitive impairment did not differ significantly between all participants who used hearing aids and those with disabling hearing loss who didn’t use hearing aids, except for those with depression, according to the report.
Studies demonstrating the benefit of hearing aid use on cognition is still controversial, the authors noted.
“The results of the present study comparing the use of hearing aids among participants with hearing are not in favor of a clear benefit of hearing aids on cognition,” the authors wrote.
