Hearing Loss in Mild Cognitive Impairment
HEARING loss in mild cognitive impairment was common, but objective hearing measures did not differ significantly from controls.
Researchers compared hearing abilities in 40 memory clinic patients with mild cognitive impairment and 60 cognitively intact older adults, finding no significant between group differences in peripheral hearing loss, speech perception in noise, or subjective hearing complaints. The findings suggest that hearing impairment is frequent in both groups and may be underrecognized in some patients attending memory services.
Objective Hearing Measures Showed No Significant Group Difference
The study set out to examine whether older adults with mild cognitive impairment had a greater burden of hearing loss than cognitively intact peers. Participants underwent pure tone audiometry and a speech in noise test, alongside cognitive assessments covering memory, processing speed, executive function, attention, and language.
Peripheral hearing loss was identified in 77.5% of patients with mild cognitive impairment and 60% of cognitively intact older adults. Despite this numerical difference, the comparison was not statistically significant. Performance on speech in noise testing was also similar between groups. This remained the case even when the investigators accounted for aided hearing in participants who used hearing aids in daily life.
Hearing Loss in Mild Cognitive Impairment May Be Underrecognized
An important clinical finding was that around one third of patients with mild cognitive impairment did not report hearing problems despite having objectively measured hearing loss. However, this proportion was not significantly different from that seen in cognitively intact older adults.
These results indicate that subjective hearing complaints may not reliably reflect measured impairment in older adults undergoing cognitive evaluation. For clinicians, this reinforces the value of objective hearing assessment when interpreting communication difficulties, functional concerns, or cognitive test performance in memory clinic populations.
Clinical Relevance for Older Adult Assessment
Although evidence on hearing impairment in dementia related conditions has been described as limited and inconsistent, this study did not identify meaningful differences in hearing abilities between patients with mild cognitive impairment and cognitively intact older adults. Instead, the data point to hearing loss as a common issue across later life, regardless of cognitive status.
The authors concluded that differences in cognitive status were not accompanied by significant differences in peripheral hearing, speech in noise, or subjective hearing complaints in this cohort. The findings support a careful, measured approach to hearing evaluation in older adults and suggest that mild cognitive impairment alone should not be assumed to indicate worse hearing performance.
Reference
Hendel RK. A comparison of hearing abilities in memory clinic patients with mild cognitive impairment and cognitively intact older adults. J Alzheimers Dis. 2026;doi:10.1177/13872877261427356.
