Belz Michael, Gmeinwieser Sebastian, Abdel-Hamid Mona, Kühler Robert, Blum Jenny, Hessmann Philipp, Strenzke Nicola, Bartels Claudia
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LVR-University Hospital Essen, Faculty of Medicine, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
Front Psychiatry. 2025 Aug 15;16:1494197. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1494197. eCollection 2025.
Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is a modifiable dementia risk factor and often associated with psychological symptoms. Hearing aid use might reduce this risk by preserving cognitive and psychological functions.
This study aims to investigate the influence of ARHL and hearing aid use on cognition and different aspects of psychological well-being.
During 05/2021 and 05/2023, 31 subjects with audiometrically confirmed ARHL were included and 28 underwent follow-up 6 months later (final analysis sample). Successful hearing aid adjustment was controlled by fitting protocols, and hearing aid use was self-reported (IOI-SH). The following primary outcomes were analyzed by general linear models (GLM) for repeated measures and compared between hearing aid users (>8 h of daily use) vs. non-users (≤8 h of daily use) at baseline and follow-up: (1) cognition: Consortium To Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD-plus, Chandler score), (2) depression: Geriatric Depression Scale, 15-item short form (GDS-SF), (3) social isolation: Lubben Social Network Scale-6-item form (LSNS-6), (4) psychological burden: Symptom Checklist-90-Standard General Symptom Index (SCL-90-S GSI), and (5) health-related quality of life: visual analogue scale of the EQ-5D.
Mild cognitive impairment was diagnosed in 11 participants with ARHL at baseline (39.3%). Only a minority exhibited psychological symptoms ( = 1-2, 3.6%-10.7% with pathological values in psychological outcomes). All primary outcomes failed to differentiate between hearing aid users vs. non-users over time (all interaction effects ns). At follow-up, between-group differences in psychological burden and quality of life were more pronounced in favor of hearing aid users vs. non-users.
ARHL has a considerable impact on cognition. Whether hearing aid use is able to substantially attenuate cognitive impairment in a short term remains unclear. Further large-scale and long-term follow-up studies are needed to additionally address specific subgroups who might have more benefit from hearing aid use.
https://drks.de/search/de/trial/DRKS00025111, identifier DRKS00025111.
年龄相关性听力损失（ARHL）是一种可改变的痴呆风险因素，且常与心理症状相关。使用助听器可能通过保留认知和心理功能来降低这种风险。
本研究旨在调查ARHL和使用助听器对认知及心理健康不同方面的影响。
在2021年5月至2023年5月期间，纳入31名经听力测定确诊为ARHL的受试者，其中28名在6个月后接受随访（最终分析样本）。通过适配方案控制助听器的成功调试，并通过自我报告方式获取助听器使用情况（助听器使用影响问卷-简短版，IOI-SH）。采用重复测量的一般线性模型（GLM）分析以下主要结局，并在基线和随访时比较每日使用助听器超过8小时的使用者与每日使用不超过8小时的非使用者：（1）认知：阿尔茨海默病注册协作组（CERAD-plus，钱德勒评分），（2）抑郁：老年抑郁量表15项简版（GDS-SF），（3）社会隔离：鲁本社会网络量表6项版（LSNS-6），（4）心理负担：症状自评量表90项标准版一般症状指数（SCL-90-S GSI），以及（5）健康相关生活质量：EQ-5D视觉模拟量表。
基线时，11名ARHL参与者被诊断为轻度认知障碍（39.3%）。只有少数人表现出心理症状（1 - 2人，心理结局指标病理值为3.6% - 10.7%）。随着时间推移，所有主要结局在助听器使用者和非使用者之间均未显示出差异（所有交互作用均无统计学意义）。在随访时，助听器使用者与非使用者相比，心理负担和生活质量方面的组间差异更明显有利于使用者。
ARHL对认知有相当大的影响。短期内使用助听器是否能显著减轻认知障碍尚不清楚。需要进一步开展大规模长期随访研究，以特别关注可能从使用助听器中获益更多的特定亚组人群。
https://drks.de/search/de/trial/DRKS00025111，标识符DRKS00025111 。
