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20Q: Hearing Loss and Dementia - Association, Link or Causation?

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1.  The author's definition of dementia is: normal changes in cognitive functioning as the result of the aging process a set of symptoms including memory problems, language problems, personality changes or thinking difficulties. cognitive slowing a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to withdrawal from reality into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation.

2.  Why is there a renewed interest in dementia, both in research and the general public? the incidence of dementia is effectively decreasing and so the goal to eradicate dementia is now in reach dementia is curable and so allocating resources toward curable diseases provides an excellent return on investment increases in longevity have led to significant increases in people with dementia, there are quality of life issues for people with dementia and their families, and there are high costs associated with care all of the above

3.  Which statement most accurately describes the relationship between hearing loss and dementia? hearing loss causes dementia dementia causes hearing loss hearing loss and dementia are not related hearing loss is associated with increased risk of developing dementia, and there is high comorbidity

4.  The association between poor hearing and poor cognition/dementia could potentially be because: hearing loss affects cognition cognition affects hearing a shared factor affects both hearing and cognition all of the above

5.  Studies have unequivocally shown that: use of hearing aids reduces the risk of dementia use of cochlear implants reduces the risk of dementia use of bone anchored devices reduces the risk of dementia none of the above

6.  Regarding messages to motivate people with hearing loss to seek treatment, the author recommends that audiologists: leverage the fact that hearing loss leads to dementia positively frame messages for which we have evidence (i.e. treating hearing loss improves quality of life) as this is most effective use scare tactics similarly to "smoking causes cancer" with regard to the link between hearing loss and dementia/cognitive decline strongly imply but don't actually say that hearing loss leads to dementia by using words such as "probably", "could", "may"

7.  A long term intervention study to look at hearing loss treatment and cognitive decline: is not feasible due to practical, scientific, financial and ethical issues is an easy study to do for an AuD Capstone project would take less than a year to complete would be easy to recruit subjects who agree to deny themselves hearing loss treatment for an extended period

8.  SENSE-Cog study is looking at: curing dementia inner ear hair cell regeneration impact and interactions of sensory and cognitive impairment whether cochlear implants or hearing aids provide better outcomes for children with severe hearing loss

9.  A prominent researcher in the US whose research team has studied the association of hearing loss and cognitive decline is: Gus Mueller Frank Lin, MD Piers Dawes Paul Dybala

10.  The author concludes that evidence from four observational studies looking at the role of hearing aid use in preventing cognitive decline: supports the fact that hearing aids reduce cognitive decline supports the fact that hearing aids increase cognitive decline does not support a robust, clinically-important effect of hearing aids in reducing cognitive decline show that funding was inadequate for the studies to be completed