Association Between Shift Work and Auditory-Cognitive Processing in Middle-Aged Healthcare Workers

Shift work in healthcare professionals affects performance in high cognitive processing, especially in complex environments. However, the beneficial effects that working in complex environments may have on auditory-cognitive processing remain unknown. These professionals face increased challenges in decision-making due to factors such as noise exposure and sleep disturbances, which may lead to the development of enhanced auditory-cognitive resources. This study aims to investigate the associations between shift work and auditory-cognitive processing in middle-aged healthcare workers.

Thirty middle-aged healthcare workers were equally allocated to a shift worker (SW) or a fixed-schedule worker (FSW) group. Performance on a cognitive test, and in pure-tone audiometry, speech in quiet and noise, and listening effort were used to explore whether correlations were specific to shift work.

Exploratory analyses indicated that shift workers tended to perform better in visuospatial/executive function, memory recall, memory index, orientation, and total MoCA score domains compared to fixed-schedule workers. In the SW group, hearing thresholds correlated with memory recall and memory index. In the FSW group, hearing thresholds correlated with orientation, memory index, and total MoCA score, while listening effort correlated with naming, and speech intelligibility in quiet correlated with total MoCA scores.

These exploratory findings suggest that shift work may be linked to distinct auditory-cognitive patterns, with potential compensatory mechanisms in visuospatial/executive functions and memory among middle-aged healthcare workers. Larger, longitudinal studies are warranted to confirm whether these patterns reflect true adaptive mechanisms.