Background: Age-related hearing loss and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) independently increase dementia risk. The Ageing and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders randomised controlled trial (RCT) found hearing aids reduce cognitive decline in high-risk older adults with poor hearing.
Methods: This pilot RCT in London memory clinics randomised people with MCI (aged ≥55, untreated hearing loss defined as Pure Tone Average 0.
Objectives: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the relationships between auditory processing, speech discrimination, and listening and communication abilities in children diagnosed with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) compared to those with normal hearing.
Methods: This was a case-control study involving seventeen participants with a diagnosis of ANSD who used spoken language as their primary mode of communication and wore hearing aids or were unaided and 21 normally hearing controls. All underwent a battery of behavioural measures of hearing, speech perception and auditory processing skills.
Previous research suggests that emotional prosody perception is impaired in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD) and primary progressive aphasia (PPA). However, no previous research has investigated emotional prosody perception in these diseases under non-ideal listening conditions. We recruited 18 patients with AD, and 31 with PPA (nine logopenic (lvPPA); 11 nonfluent/agrammatic (nfvPPA) and 11 semantic (svPPA)), together with 24 healthy age-matched individuals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Iowa Test of Consonant Perception is a single-word closed-set speech-in-noise test with well-balanced phonetic features. The current study aimed to establish a U.K.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Stroke is the second leading cause of disability worldwide. Stroke results in focal neurological deficit and often leads to auditory problems due to its impact on the auditory pathway. Altered connections in the auditory pathway, caused by stroke, can result in hearing difficulties ranging from impaired sound detection to altered auditory perception.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAge Ageing
October 2024
Background: For adults with auditory processing disorder (APD), listening and communicating can be difficult, potentially leading to social isolation, depression, employment difficulties and certainly reducing the quality of life. Despite existing practice guidelines suggesting treatments, the efficacy of these interventions remains uncertain due to a lack of comprehensive reviews. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to establish current evidence on the effectiveness of interventions for APD in adults, addressing the urgent need for clarity in the field.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry
August 2024
Background: Hearing loss has been proposed as a modifiable risk factor for dementia. However, the relationship between hearing, neurodegeneration, and cognitive change, and the extent to which pathological processes such as Alzheimer's disease and cerebrovascular disease influence these relationships, is unclear.
Methods: Data from 287 adults born in the same week of 1946 who underwent baseline pure tone audiometry (mean age=70.
Objective: To investigate (1) the current level of awareness and knowledge on Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) among Audiologists and other hearing healthcare professionals; (2) current practices in screening, diagnosis, and management of APD in children and adults across the UK; (3) professional's acceptance of APD assessment and diagnosis.
Design: An online survey was disseminated through the British Academy of Audiology and ENT UK.
Study Sample: A total of 191 hearing healthcare professionals responded to the survey.
Close links exist between vestibular function and cognition. Dual-task (DT) tests may have ecological validity to assess the impact of daily life cognitive-motor demands in people with vestibular dysfunction (PwVD), functional gait and falls risk. The present paper aimed at building predictive models for functional gait under DT conditions, while clarifying the impact of vestibular dysfunction, individual characteristics, varying task types and motor-cognitive demands.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSuccessful communication in daily life depends on accurate decoding of speech signals that are acoustically degraded by challenging listening conditions. This process presents the brain with a demanding computational task that is vulnerable to neurodegenerative pathologies. However, despite recent intense interest in the link between hearing impairment and dementia, comprehension of acoustically degraded speech in these diseases has been little studied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) is a term for a collection of test results which indicate disruption of the auditory signal at some point along the neural pathway. This results in a spectrum of functional outcomes, ranging from reasonably normal hearing to profound hearing loss. This study assessed brain structure changes and behavioral correlates in children diagnosed with ANSD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Balance rehabilitation programs represent the most common treatments for balance disorders. Nonetheless, lack of resources and lack of highly expert physiotherapists are barriers for patients to undergo individualized rehabilitation sessions. Therefore, balance rehabilitation programs are often transferred to the home environment, with a considerable risk of the patient misperforming the exercises or failing to follow the program at all.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: Infratentorial superficial siderosis (iSS) is a rare but disabling neurologic condition characterized by progressive hearing loss and balance and mobility problems. The functional decline in these neurologic domains with iSS progression is likely to adversely affect health-related quality of life (HRQoL). We studied the HRQoL of adults with iSS using 2 common generic HRQoL measures (Health Utilities Index Mark III [HUI3] and EuroQoL EQ5D [5 Level]) to determine the most affected domains and evaluate the association between HRQoL scores and disease duration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBalance disorders and falls are common in the elderly population. Regular balance exercises are an evidence-based physical intervention to prevent falls in older adults, while patient motivation and adherence are important factors for intervention outcome. Exergames are a relatively new, alternative intervention for physical rehabilitation as they improve balance and strength in older adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe term superficial siderosis (SS) is derived from the Greek word 'sideros', meaning iron. It includes two subtypes, distinguished by their anatomical distribution, causes and clinical features: 'classical' infratentorial SS (iSS, which sometimes also affects supratentorial regions) and cortical SS (cSS, which affects only supratentorial regions). This paper considers iSS, a potentially disabling disorder usually associated with very slow persistent or intermittent subarachnoid bleeding from a dural defect, and characterised by progressive hearing and vestibular impairment, ataxia, myelopathy and cognitive dysfunction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: There is growing evidence supporting the use of third-wave psychological therapies, such as mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), for people with long-term or chronic physical health conditions. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to critically evaluate the effectiveness of third-wave interventions for improving hearing-related distress and psychological well-being in people with audiological problems.
Method: We searched online bibliographic databases and assessed study quality.
Physical inactivity and sedentary time are associated with all-cause mortality, chronic non-communicable diseases and falls in the elderly. Objective of this review is to assess and summarize recommendations from clinical guidelines for physical activity (PA) of older adults in general and related to falls. A scoping review of the existing clinical guidelines was conducted.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: It has been proposed that hearing loss may result in improved visuospatial abilities. The evidence for this assertion is inconsistent, and limited to studies in congenitally deaf children, despite older adults with age-related hearing loss constituting the vast majority of the hearing impaired population. We assessed visuospatial (visuoconstruction and visuospatial memory) ability in older adult hearing aid users with and without clinically significant cognitive impairment.
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