Hearing loss and cognition in the Busselton Baby Boomer cohort: An epidemiological study

Bucks, Romola, Dunlop, Patrick, Taljaard, Dunay Schmulian, Brennan-Jones, Christopher, Hunter, Michael, Wesnes, Keith and Eikelboom, Robert (2016) Hearing loss and cognition in the Busselton Baby Boomer cohort: An epidemiological study. The Laryngoscope, 126 (10). pp. 2367-2375. ISSN 0023-852X

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Abstract

Objectives/Hypothesis

To determine the relationship between peripheral hearing loss (HL) in baby boomers (better-ear measure) and cognitive function, taking into account the impact of depression or cognitive reserve on this relationship and exploring binaural hearing.
Study Design

A prospective, epidemiology study.
Methods

Data from 1,969 participants aged 45 to 66 years were collected in the Busselton Healthy Ageing Study. Participants were assessed using pure-tone air-conduction thresholds at octave frequencies (250; 500; 1,000; 2,000; 4,000; and 8,000 Hz). Hearing loss was grouped using 1) pure-tone averages across 4 frequencies (500 to 4000Hz) in the better ear (BE4FA) or 2) latent profile analysis (LPA) using all thresholds from both ears. Cognition was tested with the Cognitive Drug Research System, verbal fluency, and National Adult Reading Test (premorbid-IQ). Regression was used to determine the impact of HL relative to no HL on age and education-adjusted cognition, controlling for mood, sex, and premorbid-IQ.
Results

According to BE4FA, 4.7% had mild (26–40 dB) HL; 0.8% had moderate (41–60 dB) HL; and 0.3% had severe (61–80 dB) HL. Based on the LPA, 20.5% had high-frequency HL; 7.8% had mid- to high-frequency HL; and 1.9% had significant HL across all frequencies. The HL group was not a predictor of cognitive performance in any domain using BE4FA and explained just 0.5% and 0.4% of variance in continuity-of-attention and speed-of-memory retrieval using LPA. Critically, those with the worst hearing did not differ cognitively from those with the best.
Conclusion

Hearing loss is not an important determinant of contemporaneous attention, memory, or executive function in middle-aged adults once age, education, depression, cognitive reserve, and sex are controlled.
Level of Evidence

4. Laryngoscope, 126:2367–2375, 2016

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	hearing impairment, cognition, epidemiology, aging
Subjects:	C800 Psychology
Department:	Faculties > Health and Life Sciences > Psychology
Depositing User:	Becky Skoyles
Date Deposited:	24 Oct 2016 14:34
Last Modified:	10 Oct 2019 17:46
URI:	http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/28154

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