Hearing loss in older adults and cognitive decline

Welcome to the EBN podcast. Dr Dorothy Forbes, former Associate Editor, will be taking a closer look at a commentary from the journal with an invited guest. These discussions are designed to help you think about issues raised in the article, as well as the clinical applicability of the original research paper. In this session, Dr Roberta DiDonato, who is affiliated with Experimental Cognitive Psychology at the Memorial University of Newfoundland & Labrador will discuss the issues raised in a commentary recently published in EBN. The commentary reviewed a prospective longitudinal study that examined the association of age‐related hearing loss (ARHL) with cognitive decline (see link to original article below). Co-author Dr DiDonato reflects on the study undertaken, and offers insightful comments and ideas that can be used in practice and policy. Read the articles: Community-dwelling older adults with hearing loss experience greater decline in cognitive function over time than those with normal hearing: http://ebn.bmj.com/content/early/2013/07/09/eb-2013-101375.full

Original research article: Lin FR, Yaffe K, Xia J, et al. Hearing loss and cognitive decline in older adults. JAMA Intern Med 2013;173:293-9