Cochlear implants shown to reverse cognitive decline
A new study has found that cochlear implants in older people not only help with hearing loss but may also help thinking and memory.
Researcher Isabelle Mosnier, of Assistance Publique-Hopitaux de Paris, examined the effect of cochlear implants on people with profound hearing loss aged 65 to 85. The study, published in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, is the first to measure the effect of cochlear implants on memory and mental flexibility in elderly patients.
The study found after being fitted with cochlear implants and with hearing and speech therapy, there was marked improvements in three areas: speech perception, quality of life (depression) and cognitive performance.
The findings of the study have global relevance.
“Our study demonstrated that hearing rehabilitation using cochlear implants in the elderly is associated with improvements in impaired cognitive function,” Mosnier wrote. “Given the projection of an increase to more than 100 million people with dementia worldwide by 2050, any study that suggests a way to offset that decline, even temporarily, has enormous public-health significance.”
Related links:
What you need to know about cochlear implants
5 reasons to cherish your sense of hearing
Signs of hearing loss to keep an ear on