Doungta Pradchaya, Paholpak Pongsatorn, Thanawirattananit Panida, Prathanee Benjamas, Piromchai Patorn
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Khon Kaen University, Thailand.
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Khon Kaen University, Thailand.
SAGE Open Med. 2025 Apr 21;13:20503121251333033. doi: 10.1177/20503121251333033. eCollection 2025.
Dementia and hearing loss pose a substantial global health challenge, and understanding their association is crucial. This study aims to determine the prevalence of hearing loss in dementia patients and investigate the risk factors for dementia severity including hearing loss.
This study was a cross-sectional study. Patients with dementia diagnosed by a psychiatrist or neurologist were invited to participate in this study. Audiometry and tympanometry were performed for hearing investigation. The severity of dementia was determined by the Thai Mental State Examination questionnaire, and the SD-SLP-01 aphasia screening questionnaire and associate factors were collected.
A total of 88 participants were included in the study. Two participants withdrew because they were unable to complete hearing tests. The prevalence of hearing loss in this study was 94.2%. The prevalence of aphasia was 25.6%. The most common type of hearing loss is sensorineural hearing loss. Twenty-five percent of participants had moderate to severe hearing loss. A statistically significant difference was observed in the mean Thai Mental State Examination scores across different degrees of hearing loss ( = 0.040). The factors that contributed to the severity of dementia included aphasia (OR: 14.40, 95% CI: 4.53-45.73, < 0.001) and severe hearing loss (OR: 55.00, 95% CI: 0.83-3,650.97, = 0.014).
Our findings revealed an extremely high prevalence of hearing loss in the dementia population. Furthermore, a statistically significant association was observed between severe hearing loss and dementia.
痴呆症和听力损失对全球健康构成了重大挑战，了解它们之间的关联至关重要。本研究旨在确定痴呆症患者中听力损失的患病率，并调查包括听力损失在内的痴呆症严重程度的风险因素。
本研究为横断面研究。邀请经精神科医生或神经科医生诊断为痴呆症的患者参与本研究。进行听力测定和鼓室图检查以进行听力调查。通过泰国精神状态检查问卷确定痴呆症的严重程度，并收集SD-SLP-01失语症筛查问卷及相关因素。
本研究共纳入88名参与者。两名参与者因无法完成听力测试而退出。本研究中听力损失的患病率为94.2%。失语症的患病率为25.6%。最常见的听力损失类型是感音神经性听力损失。25%的参与者有中度至重度听力损失。在不同程度听力损失的泰国精神状态检查平均得分中观察到统计学上的显著差异（P = 0.040）。导致痴呆症严重程度的因素包括失语症（比值比：14.40，95%置信区间：4.53 - 45.73，P < 0.001）和严重听力损失（比值比：55.00，95%置信区间：0.83 - 3650.97，P = 0.014）。
我们的研究结果显示痴呆症人群中听力损失的患病率极高。此外，观察到严重听力损失与痴呆症之间存在统计学上的显著关联。
