Today, Saturday 25 February, is World CI Day, or Cochlear Implant Day. This is an electronic hearing aid that stimulates the auditory nerve and partially restores hearing. UZA and UAntwerp conclude from new research that a CI plays a major role in the condition of the brain of hearing-impaired elderly people. “It not only restores their hearing, but also improves their cognitive skills, even those who already had a less good memory before the implant.”
A team from UZA and UAntwerp investigated the impact of a hereditary form of hearing loss on patients’ cognitive skills. The researchers concluded that older patients with hereditary hearing loss score much worse on cognitive skills than healthy peers. “As you get older, your cognitive skills gradually decline,” says researcher Hanne Gommeren. “That is the case with everyone, but poor hearing accelerates that deterioration considerably. If you have difficulty hearing, social contacts require more energy. Your brain receives fewer stimuli and has to work harder to follow. As a result, you are increasingly avoiding social situations, which means that your brain receives even fewer stimuli and becomes less and less ‘fit’.”
Better memory through implant
The researchers conducted a second study in which they examined the impact of a cochlear implant on the condition of the brain. The study showed that the implant can largely eliminate the cognitive deficit in hearing-impaired elderly people. “Even those who already had less good cognitive results before implantation, we see a strong improvement in cognition and quality of life,” summarizes researcher Ellen Andries. “The patients’ memory and concentration improve, they can once again fully enjoy their social life and, above all, take longer and better care of themselves. And not unimportant: the annual cost of care for patients with dementia is estimated worldwide at 515 trillion euros. By tackling hearing loss as an important risk factor, we can limit a major social cost.”
The study results confirm the results of previous research from 2018, which already showed that hearing-impaired elderly people stand to gain more from cochlear implantation than just better hearing: once their hearing loss is restored, their thinking ability declines less quickly and the risk of dementia is reduced .
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss a thing of the stars.
