Cognitive function and speech perception in older adults with severe hearing loss improved after receiving a cochlear implant, according to a new study.
Belgium researchers conducted the study to evaluate cognitive functioning of older adults with severe hearing loss before and after cochlear implantation. The study was published in the JAMA Otolaryngoly–Head Neck Surgery journal on Feb. 16.
The study took place at a single center over a six-year period between April 2015 and September 2021. Twenty-one older adults with a mean age of 72 were studied over that period. Participants were evaluated before cochlear implant activation and 12 months after activation.
The researchers found that cochlear implantation was associated with an improvement in overall cognitive functioning of the older adults who were studied 12 months after activation. Participants speech perception in noise also improved after cochlear implant activation.
“In this prospective, longitudinal cohort study, cognitive functioning and speech perception in noise showed a clinically meaningful improvement 12 months after cochlear implant activation in older adults with severe hearing loss at risk for MCI,” the authors wrote
The research suggests “cochlear implantation is not contraindicated in cochlear implant candidates with cognitive decline and should be considered after multidisciplinary evaluation,” the authors concluded.
