Investigation of relationships between cognitive functions and auditory skills in adults using hearing aids

Introduction: Hearing loss can cause psychophysical, psychosocial and cognitive effects. Untreated hearing loss has been shown to be associated with accelerated cognitive decline, impairments in executive function and memory, and an increased risk of dementia. The literature contains a limited number of studies that have examined cognitive and auditory skills together in individuals who use hearing aids. Purpose: The aim of our study was to evaluate learning and memory functions in adults who use hearing aids and to examine the relationship between these functions and auditory skills. Method: Our research included 32 individuals aged between 30-59 years with bilateral symmetrical sensorineural hearing loss who had been using bilateral hearing aids regularly for at least 1 year as the study group and 32 age-matched individuals with normal hearing were included as the control group. Participants were administered the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT), Visual Aural Digit Span Test-Form B (VADS-B), Spectral-Temporally Modulated Ripple Test (SMRT), Random Gap Detection Test (RGDT), Turkish Matrix Test (TMT) and Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ). Differences between groups and relationships between tests were analyzed statistically. Results: According to AVLT results, no significant difference was found between the groups (p>0.05). The scores of the study group were significantly lower in the auditory-verbal, auditory-written and auditory stimulation subtests of the VADS-B (p<0.05); however, no significant difference was observed between the groups in the visual-verbal, visual-written and visual stimulation subtests (p>0.05). Significant relationships were found between the auditory-verbal, auditory-written, total scores of VADS-B and SMRT, RGDT, TMT, SSQ (p<0.05). Significant relationships were observed between the A1-A5 mean score, A6 score of AVLT and SMRT, TMT, SSQ-speech perception (p<0.05). Conclusion: In our study, significant relationships were found between auditory skills and cognitive functions in adults who use hearing aids. It was determined that individuals using hearing aids exhibited similar performance to normal-hearing individuals in learning, long-term memory, and visual short-term memory; however, their auditory short-term memory performance was found to be weaker. It is thought that regular hearing aid use may contribute to the preservation of cognitive functions.