Cognitive change in prevalent and incident hearing loss: The Maastricht Aging Study.

INTRODUCTION:Hearing loss (HL) has been associated with cognitive decline and dementia. We examined the temporal association between prevalent and incident HL and cognitive change. METHODS:A total of 1823 participants (24-82 years) from the Maastricht Aging Study (MAAS) were assessed at baseline, 6 and 12 years, including pure-tone audiometry. Linear-mixed models were used to test the association between HL and cognition, adjusted for demographics and other dementia risk factors. RESULTS:Participants with prevalent and incident HL showed a faster decline in verbal memory, information processing speed, and executive function than participants without HL. Decline was steady from baseline to 6 and 12 years for prevalent HL, but time-delayed from 6 to 12 years for incident HL. Having a hearing aid did not change associations. DISCUSSION:Findings support the notion that HL is a risk factor for cognitive decline independent of other dementia risk factors. Onset of HL preceded onset of cognitive decline. HIGHLIGHTS:We examined cognitive change in prevalent and incident hearing loss. Prevalent and incident hearing loss were associated with faster cognitive decline. For prevalent hearing loss, decline was steady from baseline to 6 and 12 years. Onset of hearing loss preceded the onset of cognitive decline. Having a hearing aid did not change the observed associations.