Department of Otolaryngology at UKB, University of Berlin Charité Medical School, Berlin, Germany.
J Int Adv Otol. 2023 Jan;19(1):22-27. doi: 10.5152/iao.2023.22671.
Hearing loss is frequently associated with reduced postural control. This is possibly not only related to simultaneous pathophysiological changes within the hearing and vestibular system. The auditory input itself could provide helpful information for maintaining postural control. Previous studies of our group already showed that continuous or interrupted white noise can significantly improve postural control during gait conditions in young healthy individuals. The present study aimed at investigating if those effects are also active in the elderly.
Elderly volunteers (mean age 67 years) without any history of disorders to influence gait performance successfully completed 5 walking tasks under 4 different acoustic conditions. Angular sway velocity was measured close to the center of gravity with the Vertiguard® system.
Significant changes in body sway velocity were found in 4 of 5 investigated tasks. Only "walking with turning head in rhythm" was not associated with any change in the acoustic input. The sway increased by 8.9% during "walking with open eyes" in the pitch direction and by 11.5% during "tandem walking" in the roll direction if ear protection was applied. The sway was reduced by 9.1% during "walking over barriers" in the pitch direction and by 16.7% in the roll direction during "walking with closed eyes" if a stationary source of continuous white noise was presented.
The data of the present study indicate that auditory information could significantly alter postural control during walking in the elderly. Continuous white noise seems to be helpful for maintaining balance in different walking tasks.
听力损失常伴有姿势控制能力下降。这可能不仅与听觉和前庭系统同时发生的病理生理变化有关。听觉输入本身可以为维持姿势控制提供有用的信息。我们小组之前的研究已经表明，连续或间断的白噪声可以显著改善年轻健康个体在步态条件下的姿势控制。本研究旨在探讨这些效果在老年人中是否仍然有效。
没有任何影响步态表现病史的老年志愿者（平均年龄 67 岁）成功完成了 5 项行走任务，在 4 种不同的声学条件下进行。使用 Vertiguard®系统在重心附近测量身体摆动速度。
在 5 项研究任务中的 4 项中发现了身体摆动速度的显著变化。只有“头部有节奏地转头行走”与声学输入的任何变化都没有关联。如果佩戴耳塞，在睁眼行走时俯仰方向的摆动增加了 8.9%，在并足行走时滚转方向的摆动增加了 11.5%。如果呈现固定的连续白噪声源，在闭眼行走时俯仰方向的摆动减少了 9.1%，在滚转方向的摆动减少了 16.7%。
本研究的数据表明，听觉信息可以显著改变老年人行走时的姿势控制。连续白噪声似乎有助于维持不同行走任务中的平衡。
