Improvements in Gait With Hearing Aids and Cochlear Implants.

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Geriatrics
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Hearing loss is common and can impact balance and mobility.
• Auditory assistive devices (AADs) are used to improve hearing, but their effect on gait and balance is less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of bilateral AADs on gait and dynamic balance.
• To assess if AADs improve walking performance and stability in adults.

Main Methods:

• Three adult participants with hearing loss used bilateral AADs (hearing aids or cochlear implants).
• Participants performed gait and dynamic balance tasks with and without their AADs.
• Gait velocity and Mini-BESTest scores were the primary outcome measures.

Main Results:

• One participant with Ménière's disease showed significant gait improvement with AADs (20.5 cm/s faster, 5-point higher Mini-BESTest).
• The other two participants also demonstrated improvements in gait and balance with AADs, though to a lesser extent.
• Improvements were observed in aided versus unaided conditions for all participants.

Conclusions:

• Bilateral hearing augmentation may lead to clinically significant gait improvements in some patients.
• Hearing aids and cochlear implants can be valuable interventions for enhancing walking stability in individuals with hearing loss.
• The effectiveness of AADs for gait and balance varies among individuals.