This presentation will review and evaluate recent public health research that demonstrates the implications of hearing loss for the health and functioning of older adults, particularly with respect to cognitive functioning, brain aging, and dementia. It will focus on the strengths and limitations of epidemiologic research in order to provide practicing audiologists with some basic tools needed to interpret and apply epidemiologic research in the clinical setting, as well as to define priorities for future research.

Hearing well and being well is a multi-dimensional topic – research in this area has been gaining momentum. This course will discuss the current research and findings in the areas of cognition, listening effort and cognitive load, well-being, emotion and social aspects of health and hearing.

As our main target audience for hearing care shifts into the Baby Boom generation, so should our understanding of how these individuals view the aging process. The well-known attitudes and behaviors of this new generation of seniors will inevitably affect how they respond to developing communication difficulties.

The majority of hearing aid users are older adults and, thus, it is incumbent to understand the nature of their perceptual difficulties. In this seminar, the effects of aging in combination with hearing loss on spoken language understanding will be examined.

Research has shown that there are known associations between hearing loss and cognitive abilities. Cognitive decline has been seen to be accelerated in people with hearing loss. Several hypotheses exist regarding the underlying mechanisms driving the described associations. Science is currently trying to find the most likely explanation. One of the more researched hypotheses is that impoverished auditory input leads to decreased cognition - So can hearing aids delay the issue? The session will give an overview of the current state of knowledge.

This course reports on research which has studied the feasibility of using hearing-aid-assisted TeleCare for follow-up assistance for new hearing aid users who have mild cognitive impairment.

A discussion of hearing loss in the broader context of health care, the many areas that may be impacted by hearing loss, and some initiatives underway to look at addressing hearing loss on a larger scale. This article is written in an engaging Q & A format.

A discussion of hearing loss in older adults and its relationship to dementia and cognitive decline, based on the findings of current research.

Hearing loss and cognition: This course will take a closer look at the role of hearing loss as a potentially modifiable risk factor in late-life for cognitive decline and dementia. It will also review research to explore the importance of treating hearing loss in older adults.

This 2-part course is designed to provide a review of chronic diseases that are comorbid with hearing loss. Six in ten Americans live with at least one chronic disease, like heart disease, cancer, stroke, or diabetes. Audiologists must be knowledgeable of these diseases in order to practice whole-body health care for the benefit of their patients.