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Cognitive change in prevalent and incident hearing loss: The Maastricht Aging Study
Lion M Soons1, Kay Deckers1, Huibert Tange2
1Alzheimer Centrum Limburg, Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Introduction:
Hearing loss (HL) has been associated with cognitive decline and dementia. We examined the temporal association between prevalent and incident HL and cognitive change.
Methods:
A total of 1823 participants (24-82 years) from the Maastricht Aging Study (MAAS) were assessed at baseline, 6 and 12 years, including pure-tone audiometry. Linear-mixed models were used to test the association between HL and cognition, adjusted for demographics and other dementia risk factors.
Results:
Participants with prevalent and incident HL showed a faster decline in verbal memory, information processing speed, and executive function than participants without HL. Decline was steady from baseline to 6 and 12 years for prevalent HL, but time-delayed from 6 to 12 years for incident HL. Having a hearing aid did not change associations.
Discussion:
Findings support the notion that HL is a risk factor for cognitive decline independent of other dementia risk factors. Onset of HL preceded onset of cognitive decline.
Highlights:
We examined cognitive change in prevalent and incident hearing loss. Prevalent and incident hearing loss were associated with faster cognitive decline. For prevalent hearing loss, decline was steady from baseline to 6 and 12 years. Onset of hearing loss preceded the onset of cognitive decline. Having a hearing aid did not change the observed associations.
