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Hearing health matters more than you think
When we change the conversation from hearing loss as a sensory problem to hearing care as part of healthy living, we can better help patients to connect socially and thrive mentally and emotionally. Phonak supports the holistic benefits of hearing care, with particular focus on supporting responsible conversations around understanding the link between cognitive health and providing tools to care for our overall well-being.
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Expertly fit hearing aids:
- Provide more access to sound which supports auditory processing¹
- Improve listening abilities and communication²
- Have beneficial effects on cognition³⁻⁸
- Could mitigate the risk of cognitive decline and dementia⁶⁻⁸
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.
Highlights
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.
Highlights
New
Promoting hearing and cognitive health in audiologic rehabilitation for the well-being of older adults.
Sarant, J. et al. 2023
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.
Lin, F., et al. (2023, July 17)
Cognition news & research
The landscape of research is constantly evolving, with an increasing number of studies shedding light on the connection between hearing loss and cognition. Explore the latest insights:
Looking for congition tools for your office?
Resources
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.
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 patient’ cognitive health
Experts in cognition and hearing contributed to an evidence-based guideline that promotes hearing and cognitive health in audiologic rehabilitation.
Footnotes
1. Picou, E. M., Ricketts, T. A., & Hornsby, B. W. (2013). How hearing aids, background noise, and visual cues influence objective listening effort. Ear and Hearing, 34(5), e52–e64.
2. Ferguson, M. A., Kitterick, P. T., Chong, L. Y., Edmondson-Jones, M., Barker, F., & Hoare, D. J. (2017). Hearing aids for mild to moderate hearing loss in adults. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 9(9), CD012023.
3. Maharani, A., et al. (2018). Longitudinal relationship between hearing aid use and cognitive function in older Americans. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 66(6), 1130–1136.
4. Sarant, J., et al. (2020). The effect of hearing aid use on cognition in older adults: Can we delay decline or even improve cognitive function?. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9(1), 254.
5. Sanders, M. E., Kant, E., Smit, A. L., & Stegeman, I. (2021). The effect of hearing aids on cognitive function: A systematic review. PLoS One, 16(12), e0261207.
6. Mahmoudi, E., et al. (2019). Can hearing aids delay time to diagnosis of dementia, depression, or falls in older adults? Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 67(11), 2362-2369.
7. 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, NL.
8. Lin, F.R., Pike, J.R., Albert, M.S., et al. (2023). 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.
