Abstract
Several studies demonstrated the association of hearing disorders with neurocognitive deficits and dementia disorders, but little is known about the effects of auditory rehabilitation on the cognitive performance of the elderly. Therefore, the research question of the present study was whether cochlear implantation, performed in 21 patients over 70 with bilateral severe hearing impairment, could influence their cognitive skills. The measuring points were before implantation and 12 months after the first cochlear implant (CI) fitting. Evaluation of the working memory (WMI) and processing speed (PSI) was performed using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale 4th edition (WAIS-IV). The audiological assessment included speech perception (SP) in quiet (Freiburg monosyllabic test; FMT), noise (Oldenburg sentence test; OLSA), and self-assessment inventory (Oldenburg Inventory; OI). Twelve months after the first CI fitting, not only the auditory parameters (SP and OI), but also the WMI and PSI, improved significantly (p < 0.05) in the cohort. The presented results imply that cochlear implantation of bilaterally hearing-impaired patients over 70 positively influences their cognitive skills.
Highlights
According to the WHO, approximately 466 million people worldwide are affected by disabling hearing loss [1]
The present study focused on the index processing speed (PSI) and the index working memory (WMI) because of their association with hearing impairments and fluid intelligence described above
There was an average of 39.6 days between the inclusion in the study and implantation
Summary
According to the WHO, approximately 466 million people worldwide are affected by disabling hearing loss [1]. The importance of hearing impairment or hearing rehabilitation in the interaction between structural brain damage and neurocognitive deficits emerges as an essential field of study [10] Elucidating this interaction could influence the prevention of cognitive functional impairments, resulting in improved health economics [11]. Based on the link between hearing impairment and a significant increase in cognitive deficits, recent research in the field has focused on studying the association between auditory rehabilitation with CIs and dementia diseases [19]. The present work aimed to describe changes in the cognitive performance of bilaterally hearing-impaired patients over 70 who underwent auditory rehabilitation with unilateral CIs. A standardized intelligence test, WAIS-IV, was used to determine cognitive performance [54] before and after implantation. The necessary age-related grading of the cognitive function allowed subsequent comparison with different age groups
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