Physical and mental correlates of hearing impairment in the elderly in Japan

Seven hundred and forty seven elderly people aged from 65 to 98 (209 male and 538 female) admitted to the Geriatric Health Service Facility were evaluated with pure-tone audiometry, Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS) personal care severity score, OPCS hearing severity score, Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS). A single correlation study indicated that the hearing level significantly correlated with age, OPCS hearing severity score, MMSE total score and SDS total score. A multiple regression analysis showed that age, OPCS hearing severity score, and MMSE total score were significantly associated with the hearing level. We demonstrated here that the objective auditory function strongly correlated with the cognitive function measured by MMSE total score, suggesting that a regular audiological check-up and the early detection of the hearing impairment could contribute to the maintenance of the quality of life in the elderly.