Questions from Lin et al. (2013) 1. Describe the methods by answering the questions below.
a. Who did they study? 1984 older adults (mean age, 77.4) without prevalent cognitive impairment
b. What did they measure?
They measured the relationship between cognitive decline and hearing loss over time.
c. How did they form their groups at baseline?
Baseline for this study was a “cohort consisted of participants without prevalent cognitive impairment who underwent audiometric testing in year 5” (pg. 293 under methods)
d. When did they measure outcomes? They measured outcomes at Years 5, 8, 10, and 11 with cognitive testing.
2. What were their 3 main findings?
1) “Our results demonstrate that hearing loss is independently associated with accelerated cognitive decline and incident cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older adults” (296). 2) “609 cases of incident cognitive impairment were recorded during the 6-year follow-up period. Individuals having hearing loss at baseline had a 24% increased risk for incident cognitive impairment during the follow-up period compared with individuals having normal hearing. The magnitude of this association was linearly associated with the severity of an individual’s hearing loss at baseline” (296). 3) “Hearing aid use was associated with slightly attenuated rates of cognitive decline and risk for cognitive impairment among individuals with hearing loss, but these results were not significant” (297). 4) The more severe the hearing loss, the more severe the cognitive decline. 3. The authors reported that for their participants with hearing loss, using hearing aids did not significantly reduce the risk of cognitive impairment. Why should we be cautious about coming to the conclusion that hearing aids do not reduce the rate of cognitive decline for older adults with hearing aids? “Individuals choosing to use a hearing aid likely differ significantly from those individuals not using a hearing aid in measured and unmeasured factors” (297). It is important to consider when the hearing aid user began using the hearing aid before or after cognitive delay has begun. The people who are using hearing aids are usually more motivated to seek better treatment not only for their hearing loss but also for other sensory …show more content…
Before reading this article, I did not think that hearing aids would impact an individual’s outcome if the hearing loss was already present, but any stimulation is good stimulation. A little stimulation is better than nothing when it comes to an individual’s cognitive decline. I would and will encourage my family to get regular hearing tests to help prevent cognitive decline in relation to hearing loss. Questions from Nieman et al. (2016) and Mamo et al. (2016) 5. How is income-status related to accessing hearing health care and hearing aids? What is the prevalence of untreated hearing loss in adults (>60 years) according to Mamo et al.? And how many of these adults are low-income? The lower the income, the less likely the person is to get hearing health care and hearing aids. The estimated total of untreated adults over the age of 60 is around 19,419,000 (1816). The authors “estimate that six million Americans 60 years or older with a total household income less than $20,000” (1815).
6. How does race/ethnicity of participants affect their access to hearing health care and hearing aids? In particular, discuss the interesting (and unexpected) finding related to the differences in getting a hearing assessment and using hearing aids based on race (black vs.
a. Who did they study? 1984 older adults (mean age, 77.4) without prevalent cognitive impairment
b. What did they measure?
They measured the relationship between cognitive decline and hearing loss over time.
c. How did they form their groups at baseline?
Baseline for this study was a “cohort consisted of participants without prevalent cognitive impairment who underwent audiometric testing in year 5” (pg. 293 under methods)
d. When did they measure outcomes? They measured outcomes at Years 5, 8, 10, and 11 with cognitive testing.
2. What were their 3 main findings?
1) “Our results demonstrate that hearing loss is independently associated with accelerated cognitive decline and incident cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older adults” (296). 2) “609 cases of incident cognitive impairment were recorded during the 6-year follow-up period. Individuals having hearing loss at baseline had a 24% increased risk for incident cognitive impairment during the follow-up period compared with individuals having normal hearing. The magnitude of this association was linearly associated with the severity of an individual’s hearing loss at baseline” (296). 3) “Hearing aid use was associated with slightly attenuated rates of cognitive decline and risk for cognitive impairment among individuals with hearing loss, but these results were not significant” (297). 4) The more severe the hearing loss, the more severe the cognitive decline. 3. The authors reported that for their participants with hearing loss, using hearing aids did not significantly reduce the risk of cognitive impairment. Why should we be cautious about coming to the conclusion that hearing aids do not reduce the rate of cognitive decline for older adults with hearing aids? “Individuals choosing to use a hearing aid likely differ significantly from those individuals not using a hearing aid in measured and unmeasured factors” (297). It is important to consider when the hearing aid user began using the hearing aid before or after cognitive delay has begun. The people who are using hearing aids are usually more motivated to seek better treatment not only for their hearing loss but also for other sensory …show more content…
Before reading this article, I did not think that hearing aids would impact an individual’s outcome if the hearing loss was already present, but any stimulation is good stimulation. A little stimulation is better than nothing when it comes to an individual’s cognitive decline. I would and will encourage my family to get regular hearing tests to help prevent cognitive decline in relation to hearing loss. Questions from Nieman et al. (2016) and Mamo et al. (2016) 5. How is income-status related to accessing hearing health care and hearing aids? What is the prevalence of untreated hearing loss in adults (>60 years) according to Mamo et al.? And how many of these adults are low-income? The lower the income, the less likely the person is to get hearing health care and hearing aids. The estimated total of untreated adults over the age of 60 is around 19,419,000 (1816). The authors “estimate that six million Americans 60 years or older with a total household income less than $20,000” (1815).
6. How does race/ethnicity of participants affect their access to hearing health care and hearing aids? In particular, discuss the interesting (and unexpected) finding related to the differences in getting a hearing assessment and using hearing aids based on race (black vs.