听力损失与认知障碍:老年人群中的双重挑战

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1003-9198.2025.12.019

Abstract

Abstract: Hearing loss, cognitive impairment, and dementia are prevalent issues among the elderly population. Numerous studies have focused on the correlation between age-related hearing loss (ARHL) and cognitive decline (including dementia). While there are various hypotheses regarding the interaction between auditory dysfunction and cognitive impairment in older adults, ARHL is widely recognized as a modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline. This review explores the potential interconnections between ARHL and cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease from multiple dimensions including etiology, pathology, clinical manifestations, and disease progression. It also introduces the changes of cognitive performance after interventions to improve auditory function. The aim is to raise awareness among geriatric medicine clinicians and researchers about the cognitive impairments caused by hearing decline, thereby promoting further research and clinical practice in this field.

Key words: auditory system, cognitive function, age-related hearing loss, cognitive impairment, dementia

CLC Number:

R 764.436

LI Juanjuan, WEI Chaogang. Hearing loss and cognitive impairment: twin challenges in the elderly[J]. Practical Geriatrics, 2025, 39(12): 1284-1288.

References

[1] ALEXOPOULOS P, DEMERTZIS A A, BIRIS P, et al. Pragmatic questionnaire-based evaluation of auditory function in individuals with major neurocognitive disorders and hearing loss in diverse contexts[J]. Front Aging Neurosci, 2025, 17: 1504358.
[2] YANG C, ZHANG Y, LI H, et al. Sensory impairments associated with cognitive impairment among older adults in China: a community-based, 10-year prospective cohort study[J]. J Glob Health, 2024, 14: 04175.
[3] CAO X, YANG B, ZHOU J. Hearing loss and subjective well-being among older adults: mediating effect of social activity and cognitive function[J]. Clin Gerontol, 2023: 1-12.
[4] XUE T, WEI L, ZHA D J, et al. miR-29b overexpression induces cochlear hair cell apoptosis through the regulation of SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling: implications for age-related hearing loss[J]. Int J Mol Med, 2016, 38(5): 1387-1394.
[5] CHADHA S, KAMENOV K, CIEZA A. The world report on hearing, 2021[J]. Bull World Health Organ, 2021, 99(4): 242-242A.
[6] LIVINGSTON G, HUNTLEY J, SOMMERLAD A, et al. Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the lancet commission[J]. Lancet, 2020, 396(10248): 413-446.
[7] LI F F, WANG J P, ZHANG W J, et al. Trends and mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease and hearing impairment: a 20-year perspective[J]. Ageing Res Rev, 2025, 110: 102799.
[8] GOPINATH B, ROCHTCHINA E, WANG J J, et al. Prevalence of age-related hearing loss in older adults: Blue Mountains Study[J]. Arch Intern Med, 2009, 169(4): 415-416.
[9] ROQUE L, KARAWANI H, GORDON-SALANT S, et al. Effects of age, cognition, and neural encoding on the perception of temporal speech cues[J]. Front Neurosci, 2019, 13: 749.
[10] CHADHA S, CIEZA A, KRUG E. Global hearing health: future directions[J]. Bull World Health Organ, 2018, 96(3): 146.
[11] Alzheimer’s Disease International, WIMO A, ALI G C, et al. World Alzheimer Report 2015[R]. London: Alzheimer’s Disease International, 2015.
[12] JIA L, QUAN M, FU Y, et al. Dementia in China: epidemiology, clinical management, and research advances[J]. Lancet Neurol, 2020, 19(1): 81-92.
[13] TARAWNEH H Y, JAYAKODY D M P, SOHRABI H R, et al. Understanding the relationship between age-related hearing loss and Alzheimer’s disease: a narrative review[J]. J Alzheimers Dis Rep, 2022, 6(1): 539-556.
[14] THAMIZHMANI L, GANAPATHY K, PALANISWAMY H P, et al. Auditory processing and its cognitive correlates in older adults with mild cognitive impairment[J]. BMC Geriatr, 2025, 25(1): 373.
[15] JACK C R Jr, BENNETT D A, BLENNOW K, et al. NIA-AA research framework: toward a biological definition of Alzheimer’s disease[J]. Alzheimers Dement, 2018, 14(4): 535-562.
[16] VERMUNT L, SIKKES S A M, VAN DEN HOUT A, et al. Duration of preclinical, prodromal, and dementia stages of Alzheimer’s disease in relation to age, sex, and APOE genotype[J]. Alzheimers Dement, 2019, 15(7): 888-898.
[17] SIEDLECKI-WULLICH D, MIÑANO-MOLINA A J, RODRÍGUEZ-ÁLVAREZ J. MicroRNAs as early biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease: a synaptic perspective[J]. Cells, 2021, 10(1): 113.
[18] LIN F R, YAFFE K, XIA J, et al. Hearing loss and cognitive decline in older adults[J]. JAMA Intern Med, 2013, 173(4): 293-299.
[19] HUMES L E, KIDD G R, LENTZ J J. Corrigendum: auditory and cognitive factors underlying individual differences in aided speech-understanding among older adults[J]. Front Syst Neurosci, 2016, 10: 91.
[20] UHLMANN R F, LARSON E B, KOEPSELL T D. Hearing impairment and cognitive decline in senile dementia of the Alzheimer’s type[J]. J Am Geriatr Soc, 1986, 34(3): 207-210.
[21] LIVINGSTON G, SOMMERLAD A, ORGETA V, et al. Dementia prevention, intervention, and care[J]. Lancet, 2017, 390(10113): 2673-2734.
[22] HAKIM A M. A proposed hypothesis on dementia: inflammation, small vessel disease, and hypoperfusion is the sequence that links all harmful lifestyles to cognitive impairment[J]. Front Aging Neurosci, 2021, 13: 679837.
[23] TUN P A, WILLIAMS V A, SMALL B J, et al. The effects of aging on auditory processing and cognition[J]. Am J Audiol, 2012, 21(2): 344-350.
[24] SHUKLA A, HARPER M, PEDERSEN E, et al. Hearing loss, loneliness, and social isolation: a systematic review[J]. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg, 2020, 162(5): 622-633.
[25] GLICK H, SHARMA A. Cross-modal plasticity in developmental and age-related hearing loss: clinical implications[J]. Hear Res, 2017, 343: 191-201.
[26] LI J, ZOU Y, KONG X, et al. Exploring functional connectivity alterations in sudden sensorineural hearing loss: a multilevel analysis[J]. Brain Res, 2024, 1824: 148677.
[27] GRIFFITHS T D, LAD M, KUMAR S, et al. How can hearing loss cause dementia?[J]. Neuron, 2020, 108(3): 401-412.
[28] ALAIN C, DU Y, BERNSTEIN L J, et al. Listening under difficult conditions: an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis[J]. Hum Brain Mapp, 2018, 39(7): 2695-2709.
[29] RASLAU F D, MARK I T, KLEIN A P, et al. Memory part 2: the role of the medial temporal lobe[J]. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol, 2015, 36(5): 846-849.
[30] LAD M, HOLMES E, CHU A, et al. Speech-in-noise detection is related to auditory working memory precision for frequency[J]. Sci Rep, 2020, 10(1): 13997.
[31] POWELL D S, BRENOWITZ W D, YAFFE K, et al. Examining the combined estimated effects of hearing loss and depressive symptoms on risk of cognitive decline and incident dementia[J]. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci, 2022, 77(5): 839-849.
[32] BREWSTER K K, HU M C, ZILCHA-MANO S, et al. Age-related hearing loss, late-life depression, and risk for incident dementia in older adults[J]. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci, 2021, 76(5): 827-834.
[33] DAWES P. Hearing interventions to prevent dementia[J]. HNO, 2019, 67(3): 165-171.
[34] BYUN H, CHUNG J H, LEE S H, et al. Dementia in a hearing-impaired population according to hearing aid use: a nationwide population-based study in Korea[J]. Ear Hear, 2022, 43(6): 1661-1668.
[35] SAWYER C S, ARMITAGE C J, MUNRO K J, et al. Correlates of hearing aid use in UK adults: self-reported hearing difficulties, social participation, living situation, health, and demographics[J]. Ear Hear, 2019, 40(5): 1061-1068.
[36] YEO B S Y, SONG H J J M D, TOH E M S, et al. Association of hearing aids and cochlear implants with cognitive decline and dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis[J]. JAMA Neurol, 2023, 80(2): 134-141.
[37] MAHARANI A, DAWES P, NAZROO J, et al. Longitudinal relationship between hearing aid use and cognitive function in older Americans[J]. J Am Geriatr Soc, 2018, 66(6): 1130-1136.
[38] BOISVERT I, REIS M, AU A, et al. Cochlear implantation outcomes in adults: a scoping review[J]. PLoS One, 2020, 15(5): e0232421.
[39] AMIEVA H, OUVRARD C, GIULIOLI C, et al. Self-reported hearing loss, hearing aids, and cognitive decline in elderly adults: a 25-year study[J]. J Am Geriatr Soc, 2015, 63(10): 2099-2104.
[40] ASKAKAWA T, YANG Y, XIAO Z, et al. Stumbling blocks in the investigation of the relationship between age-related hearing loss and cognitive impairment[J]. Perspect Psychol Sci, 2024,19(1):137-150.
[41] VAN AGTMAAL M J M, HOUBEN A J H M, POUWER F, et al. Association of microvascular dysfunction with late-life depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis[J]. JAMA Psychiatry, 2017, 74(7): 729-739.
[42] FÜLLGRABE C. On the possible overestimation of cognitive decline: the impact of age-related hearing loss on cognitive-test performance[J]. Front Neurosci, 2020, 14: 454.
[43] YEO B S Y, GAO E Y, TAN B K J, et al. Dual sensory impairment: global prevalence, future projections, and its association with cognitive decline[J]. Alzheimers Dement, 2025, 21(2): e14465.

Hearing loss and cognitive impairment: twin challenges in the elderly

PDF (PC)

Knowledge

Abstract

Cite this article

share this article

References

Related Articles 15

Metrics

Recommended 10

[1]	ZHANG Yuwen, CHEN Lijian. Effects of crystalloid preloading and colloid preloading on hemodynamics and early postoperative cognitive function in elderly patients undergoing painless colonoscopy [J]. Practical Geriatrics, 2025, 39(9): 894-898.
[2]	CHANG Lin, GAO Yonghong. Research progress of inflammation and cognitive impairment [J]. Practical Geriatrics, 2025, 39(6): 547-550.
[3]	LAI Shuyuan, YU Shuping, YAN Lirong, GUI Qiliang, CHEN Feng. Correlation between cognitive impairment and ability of the elderly in nursing institution [J]. Practical Geriatrics, 2025, 39(4): 377-381.
[4]	WU Ziwen, ZHANG Li. Epidemiological characteristics of chronic neurological diseases in the elderly [J]. Practical Geriatrics, 2025, 39(3): 223-227.
[5]	CUI Yin, ZHANG Fujun, MA Zhengliang, GU Xiaoping. Development trajectory of cognitive function in elderly patients undergoing robot-assisted laparoscopic urological surgery [J]. Practical Geriatrics, 2025, 39(3): 282-285.
[6]	YANG Jiahui, TAO Xinyu, QU Chen. Application of multimodal artificial intelligence in the assessment of cognitive impairment in the elderly [J]. Practical Geriatrics, 2025, 39(11): 1098-1101.
[7]	WANG Siya, YIN Shi. Effects of environmental exposure on cognitive impairment [J]. Practical Geriatrics, 2025, 39(1): 22-25.
[8]	WANG Xue, ZHANG Zhenyong, XU Bin, ZHU Ya, ZHOU Xuan, ZHANG Yongjia, ZHUANG Ruijuan. Study on association of serum levels of VEGF and BDNF with severity of vascular dementia and predictive value for prognosis [J]. Practical Geriatrics, 2025, 39(1): 32-36.
[9]	DAI Jing, CUI Yan. Correlation between glycosylated hemoglobin variability and cognitive dysfunction in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus [J]. Practical Geriatrics, 2024, 38(9): 931-935.
[10]	ZHENG Hong, QI Zhenbo, XU Peng, XU Jie, YU Xinyu, ZANG Yanan, ZHANG Zhaoyan. Effects of hypnotics on cognition function and daytime sleepiness in the elderly [J]. Practical Geriatrics, 2024, 38(9): 936-939.
[11]	YE Niansi, HU Hui, DENG Bei, LIU Xueting, ZHOU Shi, LI Yucan, WANG Xiaomeng. Current situation and influencing factors of oral health-related quality of life in elderly with mild cognitive impairment [J]. Practical Geriatrics, 2024, 38(7): 674-678.
[12]	LIU Tian, YANG Rongli, HAN Huiping. Value of serum levels of Aβ1-42 and Bcl-2 in predicting the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease in elderly patients with cognitive impairment [J]. Practical Geriatrics, 2024, 38(6): 582-586.
[13]	SHI Wen, ZHU Ping, ZHOU Jie, YAN Ting, HUANG Yujie, YAN Yan. Effect of pancreatic kallidinogenase on mild cognitive impairment in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus [J]. Practical Geriatrics, 2024, 38(6): 587-591.
[14]	GUO Chun, YI Mengting, ZONG Qianxing, ZHOU Yi, WU Haidi, MO Yongzhen. Development of a 6-month risk prediction model for hypoglycemia in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a longitudinal study [J]. Practical Geriatrics, 2024, 38(6): 592-597.
[15]	GUO Jinhua, SHEN Tiemei, CHEN Ling, CUI Hong, WANG Xiaoxia, HUANG Qiao, HUANG Fang, LI Yun, YANG Manqing. Prevalence and risk factors of cognitive function in elderly inrural areas of Guangdong Province [J]. Practical Geriatrics, 2024, 38(5): 456-437.