Does cognitive impairment precede self-reported poor hearing? Results from the English longitudinal study of ageing

Objective: To investigate whether cognitive impairment precedes self-reported poor hearing in adults aged 50 and older over a 14-year period.

Design: Biennial longitudinal study.

Study sample: The data came from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing carried out in England between 2002 and 2016, with 11,391 individuals aged 50 years and older. For this study, ELSA participants who had a positive perception of hearing at the beginning of the analysis in 2002 (n = 8,895) were eligible. The dependent variable was self-reported poor hearing, and the exposure measure was cognitive impairment. The analyses were performed using Generalised Estimation Equations and adjusted for gender, age, educational level, household wealth, smoking, alcohol consumption, depressive symptoms, ADL/IADL disability, physical activity level, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Results: The results showed 33% increased odds of self-reported poor hearing in individuals with cognitive impairment. In the fully adjusted model, individuals who presented cognitive impairment in the previous wave had, over time, 10% increased odds (95% CI: 1.02; 1.19) of presenting self-reported poor hearing.

Conclusions: The exposure to cognitive impairment was associated with a subsequent self-reported poor hearing. These data represent important tools for improving cognitive and hearing impairment diagnosis and treatment.