Correlation between hearing aid use and cognitive impairment in the elderly

Presbycusis is the most prevalent age-related, non-reversible, sensorineural hearing loss. Evidence supporting the relationship between auditory dysfunction and cognitive degeneration has grown over the years. Because of the aging of the world population, an early identification of the disease and an audiological recovery could mitigate the rate of cognitive decline with positive consequences for quality of elderly’ social life. A group of 50 patient (70–92 years) underwent audiometric tonal examination to evaluate hearing ability. Only 50% (active group) were equipped with a bilateral hearing aid. After three years, all patients were retested. Among the active group, the Mini-Mental State Examination was administered to 7 pathological patients to assess cognitive status at the begin and at the end of the research. The results show that the active group has achieved a significantly higher minimum audibility threshold than the control group (p < 0.01) and a cognitive benefit.