The Link Between Hearing Loss and Cognitive Decline
12/17/24 • 39 min
Hearing loss is one of the most common conditions of aging, affecting nearly two-thirds of older adults over the age of 70, but it’s not just a matter of diminished hearing. Hearing loss can contribute to poor psychosocial outcomes for patients including loneliness, depression, and social isolation. New research also shows that hearing loss is linked to a higher risk of cognitive decline and dementia. In fact, the 2024 Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention, and Care identified hearing loss as one of 14 modifiable risk factors for dementia. According to the commission, treating hearing loss could prevent up to 7% of dementia cases globally, making it one of the most impactful areas for potential prevention. This raises the question of whether use of hearing aids in people with hearing loss can reduce or mitigate this increased dementia risk.
To help us understand these connections and the latest research in this area, we are joined today by Dr. Alison Huang, an epidemiologist and Senior Research Associate from the Johns Hopkins Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health. Her research studies the impact of sensory loss on cognitive and mental health in older adults. Dr. Huang was an author of the Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) study, a large, multicenter randomized controlled trial that tested whether treating hearing loss in older adults could help slow cognitive decline published in the Lancet.
Link to article:
Lin FR, Pike JR, Albert MS, Arnold M, Burgard S, Chisolm T, Couper D, Deal JA, Goman AM, Glynn NW, Gmelin T, Gravens-Mueller L, Hayden KM, Huang AR, Knopman D, Mitchell CM, Mosley T, Pankow JS, Reed NS, Sanchez V, Schrack JA, Windham BG, Coresh J; ACHIEVE Collaborative Research Group. Hearing intervention versus health education control to reduce cognitive decline in older adults with hearing loss in the USA (ACHIEVE): a multicentre, randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2023 Sep 2;402(10404):786-797. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01406-X. Epub 2023 Jul 18. PMID: 37478886; PMCID: PMC10529382.
The transcript for this episode can be found here.
You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hearing loss is one of the most common conditions of aging, affecting nearly two-thirds of older adults over the age of 70, but it’s not just a matter of diminished hearing. Hearing loss can contribute to poor psychosocial outcomes for patients including loneliness, depression, and social isolation. New research also shows that hearing loss is linked to a higher risk of cognitive decline and dementia. In fact, the 2024 Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention, and Care identified hearing loss as one of 14 modifiable risk factors for dementia. According to the commission, treating hearing loss could prevent up to 7% of dementia cases globally, making it one of the most impactful areas for potential prevention. This raises the question of whether use of hearing aids in people with hearing loss can reduce or mitigate this increased dementia risk.
To help us understand these connections and the latest research in this area, we are joined today by Dr. Alison Huang, an epidemiologist and Senior Research Associate from the Johns Hopkins Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health. Her research studies the impact of sensory loss on cognitive and mental health in older adults. Dr. Huang was an author of the Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) study, a large, multicenter randomized controlled trial that tested whether treating hearing loss in older adults could help slow cognitive decline published in the Lancet.
Link to article:
Lin FR, Pike JR, Albert MS, Arnold M, Burgard S, Chisolm T, Couper D, Deal JA, Goman AM, Glynn NW, Gmelin T, Gravens-Mueller L, Hayden KM, Huang AR, Knopman D, Mitchell CM, Mosley T, Pankow JS, Reed NS, Sanchez V, Schrack JA, Windham BG, Coresh J; ACHIEVE Collaborative Research Group. Hearing intervention versus health education control to reduce cognitive decline in older adults with hearing loss in the USA (ACHIEVE): a multicentre, randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2023 Sep 2;402(10404):786-797. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01406-X. Epub 2023 Jul 18. PMID: 37478886; PMCID: PMC10529382.
The transcript for this episode can be found here.
You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode
Greenspace and Late-Life Cognitive Decline
In this episode Matt and Lauren will speak with Dr. Marcia Pescador Jimenez, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Boston University whose research focuses on understanding the relationship between exposure to green space and health outcomes (including hypertension and cognitive measures). Emerging research has shown that midlife risk factors may delay or even prevent the onset of dementia later in life - among these include physical activity and social interaction. It’s not a stretch to imagine how a person’s environment may impact behaviors such as physical activity. For instance, there are places that lack sidewalks and parks that make exercising exceedingly difficult. Among environmental epidemiologists, there is growing interest in understanding how the built and natural environment influence our behaviors that, in turn, influence our health.
We encourage you to listen to this episode while on a walk outside!
Dr. Marcia Pescador Jimenez Faculty Profile
Article Referenced in Podcast:
Pescador Jimenez M, Wagner M, Laden F, Hart JE, Grodstein F, James P. Midlife Residential Greenness and Late-Life Cognitive Decline among Nurses' Health Study Participants. Environ Health Perspect. 2024 Jul;132(7):77003. doi: 10.1289/EHP13588. Epub 2024 Jul 17. PMID: 39016600; PMCID: PMC11253812.
The social engagement scale that was referenced in the podcast is called the “Berkman-Syme Social Network Index”
The transcript for this episode can be found here.
You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Next Episode
Understanding Dementia Risk Factors with Helen C. Kales, MD
In this episode, Matt & Lauren have the unique opportunity to talk with Dr. Helen C. Kales, a geriatric psychiatrist and health services researcher who has participated in the previous Lancet Commissions on Dementia Prevention, Intervention and Care – including the most recent one released in 2024. Dr. Kales discusses how the commission puts together all the evidence to make recommendations that can play a crucial role in dementia prevention. Dr. Kales is the Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Joe P. Tupin Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California at Davis and has dedicated much of her career to improving the lives of patients living with dementia.
Helen C. Kales, MD Faculty Profile
2024 Lancet Commission: Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet Standing Commission
The transcript for this episode can be found here.
You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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