Session Overview: Hearing loss is associated with accelerated cognitive decline in older adults; even mid-life onset hearing loss has been shown to increase the risk of dementia in later life. Consequently, there have now been several studies of the effect of hearing aid use on cognition. However, due to methodological limitations, whether hearing aid use can delay the onset of cognitive decline is still currently unknown. Part one of this session, presented by Associate Professor Julia Sarant, will describe an ongoing longitudinal study at The University of Melbourne investigating the effect of hearing aid use on cognitive decline in older adults. The study is measuring hearing, cognitive function, speech perception, quality of life, physical activity, loneliness, isolation, mood, and medical health, and addresses many of the limitations of previous research in this area. The results at 18 months post hearing aid fitting, along with their implications, will be discussed. Part two of this session, presented by Stacey Rich, will review how hearing loss can have a substantial impact on what we intuitively refer to as “well-being” due to its effect on connecting to others, enjoyment of social gatherings, emotion perception and how well a person can monitor personal safety, and provide an overview of growing research in this area that shows auditory rehabilitation can moderate the impact of hearing loss on well-being.

 

Presenter(s): Stacey Rich and Julia Sarant