Association of Cardiovascular Comorbidities With Hearing Loss in the Older Old.

Importance: In the United States, the population of individuals older than 80 years is expected to double in the next 40 years. Cardiovascular comorbidities are prevalent in this older old population, and their relationship with hearing loss has not been well characterized. Objective: To investigate the association of cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related risk factors with auditory function among the older old (>80 years). Design, Setting, and Participants: Audiological data and medical records from 2001 through 2014 of 433 patients aged 80 to 106 years at an academic medical center were analyzed in 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures: The degree of low- and high-frequency hearing loss of participants with coronary artery disease, diabetes, hypertension, history of cerebrovascular accident, and smoking status was compared with that of disease-free individuals. Rate of hearing loss was also determined. Results: Among the 433 patients (67% female; mean [SD] age, 89 [5.8] years), the presence of at least 1 cardiovascular morbidity was associated with elevated mean (SD) low-frequency pure-tone average (LFPTA) of 42.4 (1.6) vs 36.9 (3.5) decibels hearing loss (dB HL), a difference of 5.47 (95% CI, 4.15-9.49) dB HL. Among the 96 patients with 2 audiograms performed at age 80 years or older from which the rate of hearing loss could be calculated, 32 patients had CVD or related risk factors and 64 were healthy controls. Those with at least 1 disease had accelerated hearing loss. Patients with cardiovascular morbidity experienced a faster mean (SD) decline in LFPTA of 1.90 (0.27) vs 1.18 (0.42) dB HL/y, a difference of 0.72 (95% CI, 0.08-1.36) dB HL/y. Of the conditions studied, coronary artery disease had the highest association with audiometric thresholds and was associated with hearing loss at all frequencies tested and with poor word recognition score. Hearing loss was more strongly associated with CVD risk factors in men than in women. Conclusions and Relevance: In this study of the older old, cardiovascular risk factors and disease were associated with worse hearing and a greater rate of hearing deterioration. Hearing loss in women was less associated with the presence of CVD, possibly owing to the cardioprotective effects of estrogen. The association of hearing with CVD severity and management remains to be determined.

Increases in the Rate of Age-Related Hearing Loss in the Older Old.

Importance: There is a critical disparity in knowledge regarding the rate and nature of hearing loss in the older old (80 years and older). Objective: To determine if the rate of age-related hearing loss is constant in the older old. Design, Setting, and Participants: We performed a retrospective review that began on August 1, 2014, with audiometric evaluations at an academic medical center of 647 patients aged between 80 and 106 years, of whom 141 had multiple audiograms. Main Outcomes and Measures: From a population perspective, the degree of hearing loss was compared across the following age brackets: 80 to 84 years, 85 to 89 years, 90 to 94 years, and 95 years and older. From an individual perspective, the rate of hearing decrease between 2 audiograms was compared with age. Results: Changes in hearing among age brackets were higher during the 10th decade of life than the 9th decade at all frequencies (5.4-11.9 dB hearing level [dB HL]) for the 647 patients (mean [SD] age, 90 [5.5] years). Correspondingly, the annual rate of low-frequency hearing loss was faster during the 10th decade by the 3.8 dB HL per year at 0.25 kHz, 3.8 dB HL per year at 0.5 kHz, and 3.2 dB HL per year at 1 kHz. Despite the universal presence of hearing loss in our sample, 382 patients (59%) used hearing aids. Conclusions and Relevance: There is a significant increase in the rate of hearing loss in patients during the 10th decade of life compared with the 9th decade that represents a fundamental change in the mechanistic process of presbycusis. Despite the potential benefit of hearing aids, they remain underused in the older old. Use may be improved by changing the method of hearing rehabilitation counseling from a patient-initiated model to a chronic disease example.

Hearing Aid Use is Associated with Better Mini-Mental State Exam Performance.

OBJECTIVE: Hearing loss is associated with cognitive decline in the elderly. However, it is unknown if the use of hearing aids (HAs) is associated with enhanced cognitive function. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study at an academic medical center, participants underwent audiometric evaluation, the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), and the Trail Making Test, Part B (TMT-B). The impact of use versus disuse of HAs was assessed. Performance on cognitive tests was then compared with unaided hearing levels. RESULTS: HA users performed better on the MMSE (1.9 points; rank-sum, p = 0.008) despite having worse hearing at both high frequencies (15.3-dB hearing level; t test, p < 0.001) and low frequencies (15.7-dB hearing level; t test p < 0.001). HA use had no effect TMT-B performance. Better performance on the MMSE was correlated with both low frequency (ρ = -0.28, p = 0.021) and high frequency (ρ = -0.21, p = 0.038) hearing level, but there was no correlation between performance on the TMT-B and hearing at any frequency. CONCLUSION: Despite having poorer hearing, HA users performed better on the MMSE. Better performance on cognitive tests with auditory stimuli (MMSE) but not visual stimuli (TMT-B) suggests that hearing loss is associated with sensory-specific cognitive decline rather than global cognitive impairment. Because hearing loss is nearly universal in those older than 80 years, HAs should be strongly recommended to minimize cognitive impairment in the elderly.

Asymmetric hearing loss is common and benign in patients aged 95 years and older.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: The objective of our study was to investigate age-specific auditory function in the patient population aged 95 years and older. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective chart review at a tertiary medical center. METHODS: Medical records of 51 patients older than 95 years (82% female, 18% male) who underwent audiologic testing were reviewed. The following information was collected: age at time of most recent audiogram and prior audiograms; results of pure tone, immittance, and speech audiometry; and findings on radiologic imaging. RESULTS: None of the subjects had hearing in the normal range. For the poorer hearing ear, average low-frequency, high-frequency, and overall pure tone averages (PTA) for the population were 67.9, 82.1, and 74.9 dB hearing level, respectively. Mean word recognition score (WRS) was 57.6% and deteriorated with increasing PTA (P = .0002). Asymmetry, defined by a 10-dB difference at two frequencies, was present in 39.2% of the sample, and WRS asymmetry, defined as a difference of 12% in WRS between ears, was present in 33.0% of the sample. Retrocochlear evaluation did not identify pathology in any of the cases tested. In the poorer hearing ear, average decline in PTA per year was 2.9 dB. CONCLUSIONS: In individuals >95 years of age, hearing loss was universal, moderately severe to profound in magnitude, and associated with substantial loss of speech recognition. Hearing loss progresses at a rate greater than for younger cohorts. In this "oldest old" population, asymmetry of loss and WRS was common and is not indicative of retrocochlear pathology. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 Laryngoscope, 126:1630-1632, 2016.