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Phonak Cognitive Well-Being
Phonak encourages a shift in the narrative from focusing solely on audibility to emphasizing the holistic benefits of hearing care, with a particular focus on the relationship between hearing health and cognitive health. Hearing care professionals play a vital role to enable clients to understand the link between hearing, cognitive health and overall well-being.
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Cognition news & research
Hearing care professionals are intimately familiar with the challenges clients face with hearing loss. However, the potential impact of untreated hearing loss extends beyond communication difficulties, reaching into the realm of cognitive health. Recent research provides more evidence on the association between hearing loss and an increased risk of cognitive decline, particularly in older adults. The research landscape is constantly evolving, with more studies shedding light on the connection between hearing loss and cognition.
Explore the latest insights:
Cognition podcast
The ENHANCE study has been investigating whether remediation of hearing loss in older adults with hearing aids impacts cognitive health. Listen to the episode of "The Audiologist" with Prof. Julia Sarant, Professor and Lead Chief Investigator at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and Lisa Bacic, Manager Audiology Thought Leadership at Phonak, to learn more.
Evidence
Phonak supports research and innovation in hearing healthcare. We are committed to driving evidence in the field of holistic hearing care and healthy aging.
Two recent studies, ACHIEVE (Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders) and ENHANCE (Evaluation of Hearing Aids and Cognitive Effects) incorporate longitudinal observations, best practice audiological management, randomized control hearing interventions, and comprehensive cognitive assessments to provide more insight into the relationship between hearing loss and cognition.
Both studies were supported by Sonova’s research program and an in-kind donation of Phonak hearing aids.
ACHIEVE study
The purpose of the ACHIEVE study is to determine whether best-practices hearing intervention and/or successful aging health education can slow the trajectory or prevent cognitive decline in older adults.
This study is a multi-center randomized control trial. The 977 participants were randomized to receive either hearing intervention or a healthy aging education program.
The ACHIEVE study is led by Co-Principal Investigators Frank Lin, MD, PhD and Josef Coresh, MD, PhD from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Key findings
Treating hearing loss in older adults who had more risk factors for cognitive decline slowed down loss of thinking and memory abilities by 48% over 3 years. 3
ENHANCE study
In the ENHANCE study, 160 participants who received hearing intervention, including hearing aid fitting, were followed up for 3 years and their performance on a computerized battery of cognitive tests was compared to 102 participants of the Australian Imaging Biomarker & Lifestyle Study of Ageing (AIBL) who did not receive hearing intervention.
The ENHANCE study is led by Principal Investigator Professor Julia Sarant, PhD from the University of Melbourne.4
Key findings
Hearing intervention with hearing aids may delay cognitive decline and the timely management of hearing loss may facilitate maintenance of cognitive abilities.
ECHHO Program
The Enhancing Cognitive Health with Hearing Optimization (ECHHO) program aims to equip hearing care professionals with resources to better integrate the topic of cognitive health into their discussions with clients.
The program will include:
- Research findings on the relationship between hearing loss and cognition.
- Expert guidance on how to promote cognitive health in audiological care.
- Evidence-based explanation on the role of cognition in audiological clinical counseling.
To learn more about the ECHHO program fill out the form.
More Insights
Hearing loss and cognition: hearing well is thinking well
Professor Julia Sarant shared initial findings of the ENHANCE study in this 2020 blog article. She shares key takeaways and how this research might impact your clinical practice.
Dementia, not an inevitable part of aging
Hearing health is increasingly recognized as being important for brain health – especially later in life.
In this short article, learn a little bit about dementia and why we have huge potential in reducing the risk.
3 ways Phonak is advancing hearing healthcare
Hearing health is tied to healthy aging. Learn how Phonak is contributing to groundbreaking studies on cognition and delivering guidance and tools to help you address well-being in audiological care.
New guideline supports your clients’ cognitive health
Experts in cognition and hearing contributed to an evidence-based guideline that promotes hearing and cognitive health in audiologic rehabilitation.
Footnotes
1. Livingston, G.; Huntley, J., Sommerlad, A., Ballard, C., Banejee, S. (2020). Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission, DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30367-6
2. Lin, F., et al. (2023, July 17). Hearing intervention versus health education control to reduce cognitive decline in older adults with hearing loss in the USA (ACHIEVE): a multicentre, randomised controlled trial.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01406-X
3. Sarant, J., et al. (2023, July 16-20). Cognitive Function in Older Adults with Hearing Loss: Outcomes for treated vs untreated groups at 3-year follow-up [Conference presentation]. AAIC 2023 Conference, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
