Stern Daniel, Hilly Ohad
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Rabin Medical Center, Petach Tikva, Israel Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Harefuah. 2018 Jun;157(6):374-377.
The population of elderly patients in Israel is constantly increasing, and so is the prevalence of age-related morbidities. Age-related hearing loss is very common, affecting approximately a third of the population over 65 years of age. Dementia is also common in elderly patients, and its prevalence doubles every 5 years after the age of 65 years. Hearing loss has many negative effects, such as decreased quality of life, social isolation and depression. In the last two decades, researchers had shown a direct relationship between hearing loss and dementia. Successful hearing rehabilitation can mitigate these negative effects and recent studies demonstrated that rehabilitation with cochlear implants slowed cognitive decline. In most cases, hearing aids are used for rehabilitation. However, for many patients, conventional hearing aids are insufficient. Cochlear implants were found to be effective and safe for elderly patients with severe hearing loss, but commonly they do not refer for evaluation due to their age. In this review we present the scientific evidence regarding the negative effects of age-related hearing loss, the association between hearing loss and cognitive decline, and the role of cochlear implantation in improving quality of life and slowing cognitive decline.
以色列老年患者的数量在持续增加，与年龄相关的疾病患病率也在上升。年龄相关性听力损失非常普遍，影响着约三分之一的65岁以上人群。痴呆症在老年患者中也很常见，其患病率在65岁之后每5年就会翻一番。听力损失有许多负面影响，如生活质量下降、社交孤立和抑郁。在过去二十年中，研究人员已表明听力损失与痴呆症之间存在直接关联。成功的听力康复可以减轻这些负面影响，最近的研究表明，人工耳蜗植入康复可减缓认知衰退。在大多数情况下，助听器用于康复。然而，对许多患者来说，传统助听器并不够。已发现人工耳蜗对重度听力损失的老年患者有效且安全，但由于年龄原因，他们通常不会寻求评估。在本综述中，我们展示了有关年龄相关性听力损失负面影响、听力损失与认知衰退之间关联以及人工耳蜗植入在改善生活质量和减缓认知衰退方面作用的科学证据。
