COCHLEA: Longitudinal Cognitive Performance of Older Adults with Hearing Loss and Cochlear Implants at 4.5-Year Follow-Up.

Objectives: Hearing loss is highly prevalent in older adults and is independently associated with accelerated cognitive decline. Cochlear implants are usually the only effective treatment for people with severe-profound hearing loss, who have the highest risk of cognitive decline and dementia, however, very few receive them. Current evidence of the effects of cochlear implant use on cognitive decline/dementia outcomes is limited and unclear.

Family-Perceived Barriers and Facilitators Toward a Tele-Audiology Infant Diagnostic Testing Approach in Victoria, Australia.

Universal newborn hearing screening programs allow for early identification of congenital hearing loss. However, some families experience difficulties accessing diagnostic audiology services following a refer screen result. This study aimed to assess the opinions of families who had experienced infant diagnostic audiology assessments regarding a telehealth option for these appointments within Victoria, Australia.

ENHANCE: a comparative prospective longitudinal study of cognitive outcomes after 3 years of hearing aid use in older adults.

Background: With an aging population, the prevalence of hearing loss and dementia are increasing rapidly. Hearing loss is currently considered the largest potentially modifiable risk factor for dementia. The effect of hearing interventions on cognitive function should therefore be investigated, as if effective, these may be successfully implemented to modify cognitive outcomes for older adults with hearing loss.

Promoting hearing and cognitive health in audiologic rehabilitation for the well-being of older adults.

Objective: With our aging population, an increasing number of older adults with hearing loss have cognitive decline. Hearing care practitioners have an important role in supporting healthy aging and should be knowledgeable about cognitive decline and associated management strategies to maximize successful hearing intervention.

Methods: A review of current research and expert opinion.

No Influence of Age-Related Hearing Loss on Brain Amyloid-β.

Background: Hearing loss is independently associated with a faster rate of cognitive decline in older adults and has been identified as a modifiable risk factor for dementia. The mechanism for this association is unknown, and there has been limited exploration of potential casual pathology.

Objective: Our objective was to investigate whether there was an association between degree of audiometrically measured hearing loss (HL) and brain amyloid-β (Aβ) in a pre-clinical sample.

Positive Parenting Behaviors: Impact on the Early Vocabulary of Infants/Toddlers With Cochlear Implants.

Purpose To extend our knowledge about factors influencing early vocabulary development for infants with cochlear implants (CIs), we investigated the impact of positive parenting behaviors (PPBs) from the Indicator of Parent Child Interaction, used in parent-child interactions during everyday activities. Method Implantation age for the sample recruited from CI clinics in Australia ranged from 6 to 10 months for 22 children and from 11 to 21 months for 11 children. Three observation sessions at three monthly intervals were coded for use of PPBs.

Hearing Aid Uptake, Benefit, and Use: The Impact of Hearing, Cognition, and Personal Factors.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of hearing, cognition, and personal factors on hearing aid (HA) uptake, use, and benefit. Method Eighty-five older adults aged 60-80 years ( = 70.23, = 5.

Modelling the early expressive communicative trajectories of infants/toddlers with early cochlear implants.

For children with normal hearing (NH), early communication skills predict vocabulary, a precursor to grammar. Growth in early communication skills of infants with cochlear implants (CIs) was investigated using the Early Communication Indicator (ECI), a play-based observation measure. Multilevel linear growth modelling on data from six ECI sessions held at three-monthly intervals revealed significant growth overall, with a non-significant slower growth rate than that of children with NH (comparison age centred at 18 months).

The Effect of Hearing Aid Use on Cognition in Older Adults: Can We Delay Decline or Even Improve Cognitive Function?

Hearing loss is a modifiable risk factor for dementia in older adults. Whether hearing aid use can delay the onset of cognitive decline is unknown. Participants in this study (aged 62-82 years) were assessed before and 18 months after hearing aid fitting on hearing, cognitive function, speech perception, quality of life, physical activity, loneliness, isolation, mood, and medical health.

The Apolipoprotein Allele and Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Older Community-Dwelling Adults in Australia.

Objectives: Previous research has investigated whether the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele, which is associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline, is also associated with hearing loss in older people. Results of the very limited research to date are conflicting, and sample sizes for all but one study were small. The present study aimed to investigate whether there is an association between the APOE ε4 allele and hearing loss in a large, population-based sample of community-dwelling older adults.

The Effect of Cochlear Implants on Cognitive Function in Older Adults: Initial Baseline and 18-Month Follow Up Results for a Prospective International Longitudinal Study.

In older adults, hearing loss is independently associated with an increased rate of cognitive decline, and has been identified to be a modifiable risk factor for dementia. The mechanism underlying the cognitive decline associated with hearing loss is not understood, but it is known that the greater the hearing loss, the faster the rate of decline. It is unknown whether remediation of hearing loss with hearing devices can delay cognitive decline.

The relationship between peripheral hearing loss and higher order listening function on cognition in older Australians.

Peripheral hearing, central auditory processing (CAP) and cognition are all important for comprehension of speech and deteriorate with increased age. This study aimed to examine the relation between hearing impairment and cognitive impairment by assessing both peripheral hearing impairment and CAP ability. Cognition was measured using the CogState Brief Battery (CSBB).

Peripheral and central hearing impairment and their relationship with cognition: a review.

To consider the relationships between both peripheral and central hearing impairment and cognition. Narrative review. Numerous studies exploring the relationship between hearing impairment and cognitive function, particularly in an older population.

Children with cochlear implants in infancy: predictors of early vocabulary.

Background: Language outcomes for children with cochlear implants (CIs) vary widely, even for those implanted before 2 years of age. Identifying the main influencing factors that account for some of the variability is important in order to provide information to guide appropriate clinical and intervention services for young children with CIs. However, there is limited research focusing on the predictors of early vocabulary development for children implanted in infancy.

Serum Methylarginines and Hearing Loss in a Population-based Cohort of Older Adults.

Objective: Age-related hearing loss is associated with endothelial dysfunction and increased cardiovascular risk, suggesting a vascular etiology. Methylarginines are endogenous nitric oxide synthase inhibitors that cause endothelial dysfunction and increase cardiovascular disease risk. This study is the first to examine the hypothesis that higher serum concentrations of methylarginines are associated with greater hearing loss prevalence.

Social Development in Children With Early Cochlear Implants: Normative Comparisons and Predictive Factors, Including Bilateral Implantation.

Objectives: There are mixed results regarding psychosocial development in children with cochlear implants (CIs) compared with children with normal hearing (NH), and the effect of bilateral CIs has not yet been investigated. This study aimed to investigate whether social development differed between NH children and those with early CIs, and to identify new predictors of psychosocial development in children with early CIs.

Design: The psychosocial development, cognitive and language abilities of 159 children were measured as part of a longitudinal outcomes study of children with CIs.

Academic Outcomes for School-Aged Children With Severe-Profound Hearing Loss and Early Unilateral and Bilateral Cochlear Implants.

Purpose: This study sought to (a) determine whether academic outcomes for children who received early cochlear implants (CIs) are age appropriate, (b) determine whether bilateral CI use significantly improves academic outcomes, and (c) identify other factors that are predictive of these outcomes.

Method: Forty-four 8-year-old children with severe-profound hearing loss participated in this study. Their academic development in mathematics, oral language, reading, and written language was assessed using a standardized test of academic achievement.

Bilateral versus unilateral cochlear implants in children: a study of spoken language outcomes.

Objectives: Although it has been established that bilateral cochlear implants (CIs) offer additional speech perception and localization benefits to many children with severe to profound hearing loss, whether these improved perceptual abilities facilitate significantly better language development has not yet been clearly established. The aims of this study were to compare language abilities of children having unilateral and bilateral CIs to quantify the rate of any improvement in language attributable to bilateral CIs and to document other predictors of language development in children with CIs.

Design: The receptive vocabulary and language development of 91 children was assessed when they were aged either 5 or 8 years old by using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (fourth edition), and either the Preschool Language Scales (fourth edition) or the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (fourth edition), respectively.

Parenting stress in parents of children with cochlear implants: relationships among parent stress, child language, and unilateral versus bilateral implants.

Little attention has been focused on stress levels of parents of children with cochlear implants (CIs). This study examined the stress experience of 70 parents of children with CIs by comparing stress levels in this group of parents to those in parents of children without disabilities, identifying primary stressors, examining the relationship between parent stress and child language, and comparing stress in parents of children with bilateral and unilateral CIs. Parents completed a parent stress questionnaire, and the receptive vocabulary and language abilities of the children were evaluated.

Evidence-based approach for making cochlear implant recommendations for infants with residual hearing.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop guidelines, based on the unaided pure-tone audiogram, for recommending a cochlear implant (CI) for infants and young children with residual hearing. As awareness of the benefits of early implantation increases and age at diagnosis decreases, an increasing number of infants are presenting for consideration of implantation with significant residual hearing in one or both ears. Determining the likelihood that these infants will have an improved speech and language outcome if they receive a CI is a challenge.

Spoken language development in oral preschool children with permanent childhood deafness.

This article documented spoken language outcomes for preschool children with hearing loss and examined the relationships between language abilities and characteristics of children such as degree of hearing loss, cognitive abilities, age at entry to early intervention, and parent involvement in children's intervention programs. Participants were evaluated using a combination of the Child Development Inventory, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and the Preschool Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals depending on their age at the time of assessment. Maternal education, cognitive ability, and family involvement were also measured.

Receptive language and speech production in children with auditory neuropathy/dyssynchrony type hearing loss.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to characterize the receptive language and speech production abilities of school-aged children with auditory neuropathy/dyssynchrony (AN/AD) and to compare those abilities to children with sensorineural (SN) hearing loss of similar age and degree of hearing loss.

Design: Standardized speech and language tests were carried out on 12 AN/AD children, aged between 57 and 167 mo. Each of these subjects was a full-time hearing aid user or had been just before testing.

The effects of speech production and vocabulary training on different components of spoken language performance.

A group of 21 hard-of-hearing and deaf children attending primary school were trained by their teachers on the production of selected consonants and on the meanings of selected words. Speech production, vocabulary knowledge, reading aloud, and speech perception measures were obtained before and after each type of training. The speech production training produced a small but significant improvement in the percentage of consonants correctly produced in words.