AGE-RELATED HEARING LOSS AS A RISK FACTOR FOR LATE LIFE DEPRESSION AND COGNITIVE DECLINE

AbstractAge-related hearing loss (ARHL) has been connected to both cognitive decline and late-life depression. Several mechanisms have been offered to explain both individual links. Causal and common mechanisms have been theorized for the relationship between ARHL and impaired cognition, including dementia. The causal mechanisms include increased cognitive load, social isolation, and structural brain changes. Common mechanisms include neurovascular disease as well as other known or as-yet undiscovered neuropathologic processes. Behavioral mechanisms have been used to explain the potentially causal association of ARHL with depression. Behavioral mechanisms include social isolation, loneliness, as well as decreased mobility and impairments of activities of daily living, all of which can increase the risk of depression. The mechanisms underlying the associations between hearing loss and impaired cognition, as well as hearing loss and depression, are likely not mutually exclusive. ARHL may contribute to both impaired cognition and depression through overlapping mechanisms. Furthermore, ARHL may contribute to impaired cognition which may, in turn, contribute to depression. Because ARHL is highly prevalent and greatly undertreated, targeting this condition is an appealing and potentially influential strategy to reduce the risk of developing two potentially devastating diseases of later life. However, further studies are necessary to elucidate the mechanistic relationship between ARHL, depression, and impaired cognition.

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AGE-RELATED HEARING LOSS, LATE-LIFE DEPRESSION, AND RISK FOR INCIDENT DEMENTIA IN OLDER ADULTS

American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.jagp.2020.01.118 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 28 (4) ◽

pp. S90-S93

Author(s):

Katharine Brewster ◽

Melanie Wall ◽

Alexandra Stein ◽

Sigal Zilcha-Mano ◽

Bret R. Rutherford

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Hearing Loss ◽

Late Life ◽

Late Life Depression ◽

Age Related ◽

Incident Dementia ◽

Age Related Hearing Loss

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Neural Mechanisms Linking Age-Related Hearing Loss to Late-Life Depression

Biological Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.biopsych.2021.02.196 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 89 (9) ◽

pp. S73

Author(s):

Katharine Brewster

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Late Life ◽

Neural Mechanisms ◽

Late Life Depression ◽

Age Related ◽

Age Related Hearing Loss

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Bidirectional Association Between Depression and Hearing Loss: Evidence From the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study

Journal of Applied Gerontology ◽

10.1177/07334648211042370 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 073346482110423

Author(s):

Chao Wu

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Age Related ◽

Bidirectional Association ◽

Health Related ◽

Clinically Significant ◽

Using Data ◽

Bidirectional Associations ◽

Age Related Hearing Loss

The relationship between depression and age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is not fully understood. This study tested the bidirectional associations between clinically significant depressive symptoms (CSDSs) and ARHL in middle-aged and older adults using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Among 3,418 participants free of baseline ARHL, baseline CSDS was associated with an increased odds of incident ARHL (odds ratio [OR]: 1.51). Cognitive decline, BMI, and arthritis partially mediated the longitudinal CSDS–ARHL association and explained 24% of the variance in the total effect. Among 4,921 participants without baseline CSDS, baseline ARHL was associated with an increased odds of incident CSDS (OR: 1.37). The bidirectional associations remained significant after adjustments for baseline demographic factors, comorbidities, and other health-related covariates. Depression may contribute to the development of ARHL, and vice versa. Interventions in depression, cognitive decline, and arthritis may delay the onset of ARHL and break the vicious circle between them.

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Association of Age-Related Hearing Loss with Cognitive Decline

Korean Journal of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery ◽

10.3342/kjorl-hns.2020.00192 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 63 (4) ◽

pp. 145-153

Author(s):

Juyong Chung

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Cochlear Implants ◽

Hearing Aids ◽

Microvascular Disease ◽

Single Mechanism ◽

Hearing Aid Use ◽

Age Related ◽

Age Related Hearing Loss

A number of studies have demonstrated a significant association between age-related hearing loss (ARHL) and cognitive decline. However their relationship is not clear. In this review, we focused on the etiological mechanisms between ARHL and cognitive decline to explain the nature of this relationship: 1) causal mechanisms (e.g., cognitive load hypothesis, cascade hypothesis); 2) common cause mechanisms (e.g., microvascular disease); 3) overdiagnosis or harbinger hypothesis. We conclude that no single mechanism is sufficient and hearing and cognition related to each other in several different ways. In addition, we reviewed the effectiveness of hearing intervention (e.g., hearing aids and cochlear implants) on cognition function, and the role of hearing aid use and cochlear implant depends on the relevant mechanism.

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SUBCLINICAL AGE-RELATED HEARING LOSS IS INVERSELY ASSOCIATED WITH DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.2034 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S552-S552

Author(s):

Justin S Golub ◽

Katharine K Brewster ◽

Adam Brickman ◽

Adam Ciarleglio ◽

José Luchsinger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Pure Tone ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Pure Tone Audiometry ◽

Normal Hearing ◽

Health Study ◽

Late Life Depression ◽

Age Related ◽

Age Related Hearing Loss

Abstract Age-related hearing loss (HL), defined by a pure-tone average (PTA) >25 decibels (dB) has been associated with depressive symptoms. We aimed to assess whether this association is present when hearing is better than the arbitrary, but widely-used, 25 dB threshold. The sampled population was the multicentered Hispanic Community Health Study (n=5,165). Cross-sectional data from 2008-2011 were available. Hearing was measured with pure tone audiometry. Clinically-significant depressive symptoms (CSDS) were defined by a score ≥10 on the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10). Participants’ mean age was 58.3 years (SD=6.2, range=50-76). Among those with classically-defined normal hearing (PTA ≤25 dB), a 10 dB increase in HL was associated with 1.26 times the odds (95% CI=1.11, 1.42) of CSDS, adjusting for age, gender, education, vascular disease, and hearing aid use (p25 dB; p<0.001). Results held even for a stricter HL cutpoint of 15 dB. Among subjects with strictly normal hearing (PTA ≤15 dB), a 10 dB increase in HL was associated with 1.47 (1.14, 1.90) times the odds of CSDS, adjusting for confounders (p<0.01). Results also held when defining CSDS by an alternative CESD-10 score ≥16. In conclusion, increasing hearing thresholds were independently associated with CSDS among adults with subclinical HL (PTA ≤25 dB). Studies investigating whether treating HL can prevent late life depression should consider a lower threshold for defining HL.

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Sensorial frailty: age-related hearing loss and the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia in later life

Therapeutic Advances in Chronic Disease ◽

10.1177/2040622318811000 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

pp. 204062231881100 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Francesco Panza ◽

Madia Lozupone ◽

Rodolfo Sardone ◽

Petronilla Battista ◽

Marco Piccininni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Clinical Condition ◽

Oldest Old ◽

Population Based ◽

Older Age ◽

Age Related ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Age Related Hearing Loss

The peripheral hearing alterations and central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) associated with age-related hearing loss (ARHL), may impact cognitive disorders in older age. In older age, ARHL is also a significant marker for frailty, another age-related multidimensional clinical condition with a nonspecific state of vulnerability, reduced multisystem physiological reserve, and decreased resistance to different stressors (i.e. sensorial impairments, psychosocial stress, diseases, injuries). The multidimensional nature of frailty required an approach based on different pathogeneses because this clinical condition may include sensorial, physical, social, nutritional, cognitive, and psychological phenotypes. In the present narrative review, the cumulative epidemiological evidence coming from several longitudinal population-based studies, suggested convincing links between peripheral ARHL and incident cognitive decline and dementia. Moreover, a few longitudinal case-control and population-based studies also suggested that age-related CAPD in ARHL, may be central in determining an increased risk of incident cognitive decline, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Cumulative meta-analytic evidence confirmed cross-sectional and longitudinal association of both peripheral ARHL and age-related CAPD with different domains of cognitive functions, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia, while the association with dementia subtypes such as AD and vascular dementia remained unclear. However, ARHL may represent a modifiable condition and a possible target for secondary prevention of cognitive impairment in older age, social isolation, late-life depression, and frailty. Further research is required to determine whether broader hearing rehabilitative interventions including coordinated counseling and environmental accommodations could delay or halt cognitive and global decline in the oldest old with both ARHL and dementia.

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