Uncorrected hearing loss was associated with faster decline in memory and verbal cognition among older adults, with the greatest impact observed in those who reported loneliness despite social integration. The findings were based on data from 33,741 adults aged 50 to 99 years across 12 European countries.
Researchers used 18 years of longitudinal data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to assess how self-reported hearing impairment related to changes in episodic memory and executive function. Participants had a mean age of 61.4 years at baseline. Individuals who reported using hearing aids at any point were excluded.
Across the full cohort, increased hearing impairment was associated with lower cognitive scores over time. Each one-unit increase in self-reported hearing loss (rated from 1 = excellent to 5 = poor) was associated with a decline in immediate recall,a decline in delayed recall, and a decline in verbal fluency. Decline accelerated as hearing loss worsened, consistent with significant nonlinear effects.
To explore the influence of social context, participants were categorized into four psychosocial profiles: non-isolated and not lonely (56%), non-isolated but lonely (41.5%), isolated but not lonely (1%), Isolated and lonely (1.5%).
All socially vulnerable groups had lower cognitive scores than those in the non-isolated, not lonely group. The isolated and lonely subgroup had the lowest cognitive performance, with lower scores in immediate recall, delayed recall, and verbal fluency.
The “non-isolated but lonely” group—individuals with social networks who reported feeling emotionally disconnected—showed the steepest memory decline as hearing loss worsened. In this group, each one-unit increase in hearing loss was associated with an additional drop in immediate recall as well as in delayed recall, compared with the reference group.
“Addressing hearing impairment alongside loneliness—even in socially integrated individuals—may be crucial for promoting cognitive health in later life,” stated lead study author Charikleia Lampraki, of the University of Geneva’s Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences and the Swiss Center of Expertise in Life Course Research LIVES.
For example, a person experiencing a 4-point increase in hearing impairment could have a 0.12-point recall decline from hearing loss, 0.40-point decline due to aging over 10 years, and an additional 0.24-point decline from loneliness-related effects—totaling a possible 0.76-point drop in immediate recall.
The authors reported no conflicts of interest.
Source: Communications Psychology