Hearing loss and cognition: A protocol for ensuring speech understanding before neurocognitive assessment

Kolberg, Elizabeth R.; Morales, Emmanuel E. Garcia; Thallmayer, Tara W.; Arnold, Michelle L.; Burgard, Sheila; Chisolm, Theresa H.; Coresh, Josef; Couper, David; Hayden, Kathleen M.; Huang, Alison R.; Lin, Frank R.; Mitchell, Christine M.; Mosley, Thomas H.; Gravens‐Mueller, Lisa; Owens, Tiffany A.; Pankow, James S.; Pike, James Russell; Reed, Nicholas S.; Sanchez, Victoria; Schrack, Jennifer A.; Deal, Jennifer A.; Goman, Adele M.; ACHIEVE Collaborative Research Group

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Many neurocognitive evaluations involve auditory stimuli, yet there are no standard testing guidelines for individuals with hearing loss. The ensuring speech understanding (ESU) test was developed to confirm speech understanding and determine whether hearing accommodations are necessary for neurocognitive testing. METHODS: Hearing was assessed using audiometry. The probability of ESU test failure by hearing status was estimated in 2679 participants (mean age: 81.4 ± 4.6 years) using multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Only 2.2% (N = 58) of participants failed the ESU test. The probability of failure increased with hearing loss severity; similar results were observed for those with and without mild cognitive impairment or dementia. DISCUSSION: The ESU test is appropriate for individuals who have variable degrees of hearing loss and cognitive function. This test can be used prior to neurocognitive testing to help reduce the risk of hearing loss and compromised auditory access to speech stimuli causing poorer performance on neurocognitive evaluation.

Citation

Kolberg, E. R., Morales, E. E. G., Thallmayer, T. W., Arnold, M. L., Burgard, S., Chisolm, T. H., Coresh, J., Couper, D., Hayden, K. M., Huang, A. R., Lin, F. R., Mitchell, C. M., Mosley, T. H., Gravens‐Mueller, L., Owens, T. A., Pankow, J. S., Pike, J. R., Reed, N. S., Sanchez, V., Schrack, J. A., …ACHIEVE Collaborative Research Group. (2024). Hearing loss and cognition: A protocol for ensuring speech understanding before neurocognitive assessment. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 20(3), 1671-1681. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13552

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 22, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Dec 11, 2023
• Publication Date: 2024-03
• Deposit Date: Dec 12, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 12, 2023
• Journal: Alzheimer's & Dementia
• Print ISSN: 1552-5260
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 20
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 1671-1681
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13552
• Keywords: aging, cognition, dementia, hearing loss, mild cognitive impairment, neurocognitive evaluation, speech understanding
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/3221531