Should audiologists measure cognition: How and why? · Should audiologists measure cognition: How...
Transcript of Should audiologists measure cognition: How and why? · Should audiologists measure cognition: How...
Should audiologists measure
cognition: How and why?
Kathy Pichora-Fuller
Professor, Psychology, University of Toronto
Adjunct Scientist, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network
Adjunct Scientist, Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Hospital, Toronto
Guest Professor, Linneaus Centre HEAD, Linköping University, Sweden
Funded by CIHR, NSERC, & Hearing Foundation of Canada
Outline (Part I – “Healthy Adults”)
Relevance of cognition for listening
Gains and losses in health cognitive aging
Cognitive processing declines and listening
Use of context and compensation
Brain plasticity and training
New ideas for listening training
Prevalence of Hearing Loss in Older Adults
Audiometry (e.g., Plomp, 1978; Moscicki et al., 1985; Willott, 1991)
65 years 24%
70 years 30%
75 years 50%
57-89 years 83%
75% of people with hearing loss are > 75 years old
Average first time hearing aid user ~ 70 years
Audiograms and Age (ISO 7029)
HF audiometric threshold elevation
OHC (also noise-induced hearing loss)
Endocochlear potentials ~ stria vascularis
Neural – loss of synchrony
(Mills, Schmeidt, Schulte, & Dubno, 2006)
Women Men
3kHz 3kHz
Speech Understanding in Noise
Little problem in ideal listening conditions Quiet
One talker
Familiar person, topic, situation
Simple task, focused activity
Difficulty in challenging listening conditions Noise
Multiple talkers
Strangers, accents, new topic, novel situation
Complex task, many concurrent activities
Fast pace
Hearing aid
Avoid by withdrawal from social interaction!
Speech Perception in Noise (Pichora-Fuller, Schneider, Daneman, JASA, 1995)
8 lists of 50 sentences
Half low-context
John did not talk about the spoon.
Half high-context
Stir your coffee with a spoon.
Repeat last word of sentence
Vary S:N
(Sometimes also recall)
Old need 3 dB better S:N
Context helps
3 dB
YOUNG
OLD
OLD HL
Speech, Spatial & Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ; Noble & Gatehouse, 2004;
Bahn, Singh, Pichora-Fuller, JAAA, 2012)
Older “normal” vs HL
Older vs Younger Adults
Older “normal” hearing for age
with clinically normal audiograms up to 4 kHz
SSQ and Behavioural Hearing Tests:
Not Significantly Correlated
Pure-tone Average
(dB HL)
Words-in-Noise (WIN)
50% threshold (dB SNR)
SSQ Items with Largest Age-related Differences
Speech
Conversing in adverse environment
Conversation in reverberant environment 1.7
Talking with a person in continuous noise 1.6
Focusing, switching attention
Ignore interfering voice of different pitch 1.9
Following conversation switching in a group 1.6
Young - Old score
(10-point scale)
Speech Understanding in Noise
CHABA Report (1988).
J Acoust Soc Am, 83, 859-895
Peripheral auditory
Central auditory
Cognitive
Interactions of sensory and cognitive aging Schneider BA, Pichora-Fuller MK, Daneman M. The effects of
senescent changes in audition and cognition on spoken language
comprehension. In: Gordon-Salant S, Frisina RD, Popper A, Fay D,
eds. The Aging Auditory System: Perceptual Characterization and
Neural Bases of Presbycusis. Berlin: Springer; 2010:167-210
Outline (Part 1)
Relevance of cognition for listening
Gains and losses in health cognitive aging
Cognitive processing declines and listening
Use of context and compensation
Brain plasticity and training
New ideas for listening training
What Changes in Cognitive
Development over the Lifespan? (Craik & Bialystock, Handbook of Cognitive Aging, 2008)
Representation (KNOWLEDGE)
-vocabulary
- world knowledge
- expertise
Context
(reliance, benefit from SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT)
Control (PROCESSING)
-working memory
-processing speed
-divided attention
-sensory
Younger Older
Bottom-Up &Top Down Processing Effortful listening
Bottom-up processing less efficient
Top-down processing more necessary
Bottom-up (ear to brain) Analysis of acoustic signal
Better signal (faster)
Poorer signal (slower)
@ amount & type of distortion
Top-down (brain to ear) Priming (pre-signal)
expectations facilitate recognition (faster)
Disambiguation (post-signal) knowledge constrains alternatives (slower)
Repair (post-signal) Fill in gaps or correct errors (slower)
Sound
Meaning
Bo
tto
m u
p
Knowledge
To
p D
ow
n
As Processing Effort Increases
Extreme demand: Accuracy drops
But if accuracy remains high,
increased processing (cognitive effort/load)
is manifested by
Reduced working memory span
Slower speed
Problems dividing attention (dual task)
Working memory
System responsible for the PROCESSING and
temporary STORAGE of information
during the performance of all complex cognitive tasks,
including comprehension
assumed to have a limited capacity that must be
shared between processing and storage
(Baddeley, 1976; Daneman & Carpenter, 1980)
Attentional control and speed of processing
Spectrograms for Jittered and
Intact Sentence in Babble
Effect of Simulated Auditory Aging
on Working Memory Span
Measuring Working Memory:
Why and How…. Fred
Mary
Fred in Quiet
Fred in Noise
Fred in More Noise
Processing Storage
If task demand does not exceed capacity, would recognition accuracy be reduced?
If task demand does exceed capacity, would recognition accuracy be reduced?
If WM measured on-line, would it correlate with performance (accuracy, speed, effort)?
INTER-
Off-line
WM = 5
WM = 7
INTRA-
On-line
WM = 5
WM = 3
WM = 1
Are Older Adults Special?
Audibility (audiogram) is primary but not a special aging factor (Humes, 2003, JAAA 2007)
If audibility factor is minimized
Age-related auditory temporal processing issues emerge Especially in challenging listening conditions
Complex speech (e.g., sentences)
Complex backgrounds (e.g., competing talkers)
Critical age differences when conditions become challenging Older listeners need 2-3 dB better S:N than younger listeners
Cognitive factors important in challenging conditions!!! Regardless of age
Regardless of audiogram
Word Span with NU6s (Smith, Pichora-Fuller, Alexander, Wilson, & Anderson, in prep)
Word Recognition Judgment Recall
RICE
FIST
RISK
GRACE
BAR
SHOVE
WHAT
MOON
CALF
THAT
√ X, Fish
√ √ √
√ Rice,
Fish, √ Risk, √ Grace, √
√ √ √ √
√ X, Car
√
√
X
√
X
X
Card, X
Shove, √
√ √ √ √
√ √ √ √
What, √
Moon, √
Rice, √
That, √
NONE
OBJECT
ALPHA
YOUNGER
OLDER
ME
AN
NU
MB
ER
OF
WO
RD
S P
ER
SE
T S
IZE
2
3
4
5
6
SET SIZE
2 3 4 5 6
2
3
4
5
6
RECOGNITION
RECALL
OHL Recognition
Recall
Cognitive Aging
Gains:
Knowledge is preserved
and context is helpful
Losses:
Processing
Working memory
Slowing
Attention/Inhibition
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
Younger
Intact
Younger
Jitter
Older Intact
Be
ne
fit
fro
m C
on
tex
t (d
B S
NR
)
2-3 dB
LOW
HIGH
Cognitive Neuroscience of Aging
Same performance achieved with different processing
More widespread activation ~ brain reorganization
Young brain activity more lateralized
Old brain activity more distributed
Deterioration or compensation?
HAROLD: Hemispheric asymmetry reduction in older adults
(Cabeza, 2002)
PASA: Posterior-anterior shift in aging
(Davis, Dennis, Daselaar, Fleck & Cabeza, 2008)
Context, Intelligibility & Brain Activation (Obleser, Wise, Dresner & Scott, 2006)
High vs. low predictability at
intermediate signal quality for
younger adults listening to
distorted (noise-vocoded) SPIN sentences
Activation to HIGH-CONTEXT >
LOW-CONTEXT speech
Various areas activated including the
left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
(working memory & semantic processing)
Compensation (Grady, 2012, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 13, 491-505)
low high
Task Demands (Pichora-Fuller & Jamieson, 2012)
Task 1 depends mostly on auditory
capacity (e.g., detecting a sound).
Task 2 depends more on cognitive
capacity (comprehending a lecture).
Task 3 depends even more on
cognitive capacity (dividing attention
during group conversation).
P1 is a person with normal hearing
and slightly below average cognitive
capacity who has sufficient combined
capacities to succeed on all 3 tasks.
P2 is a person with hearing loss and
high cognitive capacity who is able to
succeed on all 3 tasks by using
cognitive capacity (world and linguistic
knowledge) to help compensate for
deficits in auditory processing.
Co
gnit
ive
Cap
acit
yLo
w
Hig
h
Low HighAuditory Capacity
Task 3
Task 1
Task 2
P1
P2
Cognition & HA Benefit Correlated
Landmark 2003 studies
(Gatehouse et al.; Humes; Lunner) Those with higher cognitive function
do better with complex, fast-acting signal processing
Those with lower cognitive function
do less well with such complex devices
Cognition matters in challenging conditions
Why?
How measure cognitive status? To predict or guide treatment
(HA fitting, training)
As a new outcome measure
Lunner & Sundewall-Thorén, JAAA 2007 N = 32 experienced HA users
Replicates earlier studies (Gatehouse et al. 2003, 2006) with sentence tests
Explained SNR variance
from hearing loss and cognitive performance
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Slow&Unmod. Slow&Mod. Fast&Unmod. Fast&Mod.
Test condition
Ex
pla
ine
d v
ari
an
ce
PTA(6)
VLM
Cognitive Hypotheses & Training Cognitive Compensation Hypothesis (Li, Krampe, & Bondar, 2005; Li & Lindenberger, 2002)
declining sensory (and motor) functions are
compensated by higher-level cognitive and attentional processes
CRUNCH - Compensation-Related Utilization of
Neural Circuits Hypothesis (Reuter-Lorenz & Cappell, 2008)
additional brain regions are recruited by older adults when capacity limits are
reached in a given task or combined tasks.
STAC - Scaffolding Theory of Aging and Cognition (Park & Reuter-Lorenz, 2009)
there is the potential to enhance such compensation by training.
Outline (Part IB)
Relevance of cognition for listening
Gains and losses in health cognitive aging
Cognitive processing declines and listening
Use of context and compensation
Brain plasticity and training
New ideas for listening training
New Rehab Approaches Pichora-Fuller, M.K. (2013). Auditory and cognitive processing in
audiologic rehabilitation (pp. 519-536). In J. Spitzer & J. Montano
(Eds.), Adult audiologic rehabilitation: Advanced practices (2nd edition).
Plural Publishing, San Diego, CA.
Ease of Listening
1. Semantic priming
2. Stream segregation
3. Spatial expectation
4. Emotional consistency
Speed and Ease of Processing
As adults age:
Auditory temporal processing declines
Cognitive information processing slows
Auditory and cognitive aging can combine to
make listening sluggish
Easier listening is reflected in faster listening
Reaction time or online measures could reveal
differences in speed/ease when accuracy
measures are near ceiling and insensitive
Lexical decision reaction time
in younger and older listeners:
The effects of semantic context and
the type and amount of acoustical distortion
- Preceding context distorted or intact Target intact
Congruent Stir your coffee with a spoon. (yes)
Neutral Its name is grock. (no)
Incongruent Stir your coffee with a risk. (yes)
- Measure RT when lexical decision correct
- Facilitation (RT neutral context – RT congruent context)
Goy, H., Pelletier, M., Coletta, M., & Pichora-Fuller, M.K. (in press).
Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research.
Huiwen Goy
Increasing Distortion of Context Only
Slows Lexical Decision for Intact Items
None
Some
More
Effects of Distorting Context on
Speed of Lexical Decision
90
45
• Older listeners’ RTs are more facilitated by context.
• Signal distortion reduces facilitation.
Speed (and Ease) of Listening
Signal quality affects listening:
Faster if signal is intact
Slower if signal is distorted or degraded or noisy
Could be influenced by hearing aid processing
Context affects listening:
Faster if context is semantically congruent
Slower if context is semantically incongruent
Could be influenced by AR training
New Rehab Approaches
Ease of Listening
1. Semantic priming
2. Stream segregation
3. Spatial expectation
4. Emotional consistency
Speech-on-Speech Listening Ezzatian, Li, Schneider & Pichora-Fuller, submitted
Circles : intact two-talker speech masker condition.
Diamond : time-reversed two-talker speech masker.
Triangles pointing up : 3-band noise-vocoded speech masker condition.
Triangles pointing down: 16-band noise-vocoded speech masker condition.
Squares: precedence-effect speech masker condition. Dotted lines – word position effect; solid lines – no word position effect
Payam Ezzatian
New Rehab Approaches
Ease of Listening
1. Semantic priming
2. Stream segregation
3. Spatial expectation
4. Emotional consistency
Spatial Attention (based on Kidd et al., 2005)
“Ready Hopper,
go to white 2 now”
“Ready Charlie,
go to blue 1 now”
“Ready Baron,
go to green 8 now”
• Callsigns = Charlie, Hopper, Baron, etc.
• Probability of target at the centre location (1.0, 0.8, 0.6 0.33)
• Simple vs Complex instruction
• Task: Identify colour and number with target callsign
Ready Charlie, go to
[colour] [number] now.
10%
10%
80% Gurjit Singh
Likely
Unlikely Unlikely
Task Complexity Hurts Older Adults
if Target at Unlikely Location Singh, Pichora-Fuller, Schneider, JASA 2008; in press, Ear & Hearing
New Rehab Approaches….
Ease of Listening
1. Semantic priming
2. Stream segregation
3. Spatial expectation
4. Emotional consistency
Emotion & Word Recognition (Dupuis & Pichora-Fuller, in prep; Dupuis PhD)
Mixed vs. Blocked; Young > Old ~ 11% vs. 6%
FEAR SAD
Kate Dupuis
Listening in Noise ~
Driving Uphill in Snow • Low gear (effort)
• Slow down (speed)
• Keep moving (continuity)
• Monitor space (expectations)
• Stay calm (emotion)
• Expertise (training)
• Snow tires (technology)
• Get where you want to go
• Stay safe
Outline ( Part 2 – Dual Hearing
and Cognitive Loss)
1. Links between hearing loss and dementia
2. Diagnosing MCI and dementia
3. Hearing and cognitive assessment
4. Rehabilitation
Pichora-Fuller, K., Dupuis, K. Reed, M. & Lemke (in press).
Helping older people with cognitive decline communicate:
Hearing aids as part of a broader rehabilitation approach.
Seminars in Hearing.
Cognitive Impairment
Canadian Study of Health and Aging
(Ebly et al., 1994)
Dementia
75-84 years: 15%
85-89 years: 23%
90-94 years: 40%
> 95 years: 58%
Of adults 75-84 years old living in community
15% have dementia
http://www.alzheimer.ca/en/Get-involved/Raise-your-voice/Rising-Tide
Hearing Loss Associated with Dementia
Gold, Lightfoot & Hnath-Chisolm (1996)
27 of 30 (90%) patients with Alzheimer’s had
hearing impairment (pure-tone screen & HHIE)
Uhlmann et al. (1989)
Case-control study with 100 pairs
Prevalence of hearing loss significantly higher in
those with Alzheimer’s-type dementia
Hearing loss significantly correlated with MMSE
Lin et al. (2004) Dual sensory loss associated with greatest odds for
cognitive decline and for functional decline on five
everyday activities over a period of four years
Dual Sensory (Hearing & Vision) Loss
Self-reported DSI (Caban et al., 2005) 3% in general population
17% in adults > 80 years
Clinical measures in 400 veterans (Smith et al., 2008) 42-75% depending on criteria for HL
100 in each of 4 age groups (<65, 65-74, 75-84, 85+ yrs)
Unaided > 40 dB HL pure-tone average threshold in better ear
Regular PTA (.5, 1 & 2 kHz) vs high-frequency PTA (1,2 & 4 kHz)
7.4% vision impairment overall Best corrected acuity less than 20/40 (legal blindness)
> 20% dual loss in veterans > 85 years
“Central Auditory” (Speech in Noise)
Problems May PRECEDE Dementia Longitudinal epidemiological studies
Gates et al. (1996)
N >700, speech in competing speech test (SSI-ICM) in
those without stroke, dementia, or HL (PTA 40 dB HL)
MMSE administered 2, 4, 6 years later
Those with low scores on SSI-ICM were 6-12 times more
likely to develop clinical dementia
Gates et al. (2002, 2008)
Similar results for longer follow-up period (3-12years)
Pure-tone HL related to incident
dementia Lin, F. R., Metter, E. J., O’Brien, R. J., Resnick, S. M., Zonderman,
A. B., & Ferrucci, L. (2011). Hearing loss and incident dementia.
Archives Neurology, 68(2), 214-220.
Lin FR, Ferrucci L, Metter EJ, et al. (2011). Hearing loss and
cognition in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.
Neuropsychology, 25, 763-770.
Lin FR. (2012). Hearing loss in older adults. Who’s listening? JAMA,
307, 1147-1148.
Lin FR, Yaffe K, Xia J, et al. (2013). Hearing loss and cognitive
decline in older adults. JAMA Intern Med, 173, 293-299.
Central Auditory Tests (DDT)
Idrizbegovic E, Hederstierna C, Dahlquist
M, Nordström CK, Jelic V, Rosenhall U.
(2011).
Central auditory function in early Alzheimer's
disease and in mild cognitive impairment.
Age Ageing, 40, 249-254
Outline ( Part 2)
1. Links between hearing loss and dementia
2. Diagnosing MCI and dementia
3. Hearing and cognitive assessment
4. Rehabilitation
When does cognitive aging start?
Chronological Age
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Z-S
core
-1.5
-1.0
-0.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
Synonym Vocabulary
Pattern Comparison (Speed)
Raven's (Reasoning)
Recall (Memory)
84
50
16
Pe
rce
ntil
e o
f P
op
ula
tion
Salthouse (2004) Current Directions in Psychological Science
New View
Cognitive decline as a continuum
Healthy aging
MCI
Dementia
Figure 1. Estimates of age-specific prevalences of Alzheimer’s disease (AD),
Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), and Non-Affected (NAs), aged 60–85,
assuming 1.0% rate for conversion from NA to MCI at age 60.
(Adapted with permission from Yesavage JA, O’Hara R, Kraemer H, et al.
Modeling the prevalence and incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and
mild cognitive impairment. J Psychiat Res 2002;36:281-286.)
Changes in cognitive functioning Declines in memory, learning, attention, and
judgment
Disorientation in time and space
Difficulties in word finding, communication
Declines in personal hygiene
Inappropriate social behaviour
Personality changes
Symptoms and Diagnosis
Most common form of progressive, degenerative, and fatal
dementia accounting for up to 60% of all cases of dementia
Neurological changes in Alzheimer’s disease
Microscopic
Rapid cell death in hippocampus, cortex, basal forebrain
Neurofibrillary tangles (beta-amyloid protein)
Neuritic plaques
Neurotransmitters altered
Alzheimer’s Disease
Vascular Dementia – CVA (stroke)
Parkinson’s Disease Associated with dopamine deficiency
14% to 40% will develop dementia
Huntington’s Disease Associated with GABA deficiency
Alcohol Dementia Complex Wernicke-Korzakoff’s Disease
AIDS Dementia Complex (ADC)
Other Forms of Dementia
Sundowning – symptoms worse in the evening
Wide variation in the rate of deterioration Wandering
Incontinence
Loss of personhood
Past: definitive diagnosis depends on autopsy
Now: possible to measure in brain (plagues/tangles)
Comprehensive and broad diagnosis can be
reasonably accurate pre-mortem
Treatable causes of Alzheimer’s-like dementia
must be ruled out
Symptoms and Diagnosis
7 (2011) 270–279.
Outline ( Part 2)
1. Links between hearing loss and dementia
2. Diagnosing MCI and dementia
3. Hearing and cognitive assessment
4. Rehabilitation
Hearing Loss Can Impair Performance
on Any Task Using Auditory Stimuli
Weinstein & Amsel (1986) N=30 institutionalized elders with senile dementia
10 of 30 reclassified to less severe category of
dementia when retested with amplification
(83% had hearing loss > 25 dB HL, significantly
higher than comparison sample w/o dementia)
MoCA
www.mocatest.org
N=301
N=122
Effect of Background Noise on MoCA Scores Dupuis, Marchuk, Pichora-Fuller, Chasteen, Singh, & Smith, submitted
(Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition)
Speech 50 dBHL
Babble 30 dBHL
Babble 62 dBHL
20 per group
Veronica Marchuk
Assessing Person with Dementia Marilyn Reed, Canadian Hearing Report, in press
• Give short, simple instructions • Practice, to ensure instructions are understood • Provide prompting and encouragement • Accept a variety of responses • Get most valuable information first (i.e., minimize fatigue, agitation) • Speech testing (meaningful stimuli) more successful that PTs; SRTs
more reliable than PTTs • Obtain SATs where SRTs unobtainable • Use any speech material that is effective; meaningful/familiar speech
(simple questions or digits more successful than PBs or spondees) • Test at time of day when most alert (usually morning) • Presence of caregiver/family member may reduce agitation or anxiety • Assess over multiple sessions if needed • Include speech in noise and CAP test (s) appropriate to capability • Objective assessment; acoustic reflexes, ABR (OAEs unlikely)
Outline ( Part 2)
1. Links between hearing loss and dementia
2. Diagnosing MCI and dementia
3. Hearing and cognitive assessment
4. Rehabilitation
Aging & Communication
Hearing Loss
Vision Loss
Cognitive Loss
Mobility Loss
Clinically
Normal
http://www.iso.org/iso/pressrelease.htm?refid=Ref1397
Doing the math in the clinic? in life?
NORMAL
NORMAL
NORMAL
BLINDNESS
DEAFNESS
DEMENTIA
Degree of Impairment
Auditory
Visual
Cognitive
Stave off and Slow Decline
Possible Protective Factors
Occupational
Education
Bilingualism
Employment
Social Activity
Cognitive Activity
Volunteering
Physical
Being male
Genetics
Cardiovascular health
Diet
Exercise
Scarmeas et al. (2009) JAMA, 302, 627-637.
Interactive Effects of Physical Activity and Diet
Mild Cognitive Impairment (e.g, Troyer & Murphy, 2007)
Active lifestyle ~ risk of future dementia Cognitive engagement
Tasks involving problem-solving, decision-making, learning, remembering new information
Social interaction Rich social stimulation and active social network
Participating in group activities and interactions
Physical activity Some activities are done in groups, with music
Enriched environments
Group interventions
Communication-related disorders???
Kelly Murphy
MCI Memory Intervention Program
Goals Increase knowledge about practical and effective
memory strategies
Increase use of targeted strategies in everyday memory situations
Change beliefs about memory function and factors influencing memory function
Improve memory performance on objective memory tasks
Troyer, Murphy, Anderson et al., (2008).
Neuropsych. Rehab, 18, 65-88
MCI Memory Intervention Program • Group intervention
• Detailed handouts
• At-home assignments
• Concurrent sessions for families
• Memory Strategies
• Knowledge (Know) • Use in everyday life (Use out) • Use in laboratory (Use in)
• Memory Beliefs • Memory Performance
Troyer, Murphy, Anderson et al., (2008).
Neuropsych. Rehab, 18, 65-88
MCI Memory Intervention Program
Week 1st hour 2nd hour - MCI 2nd hour - family
1 What is MCI?
Overview of Strategies
Memory book MCI and
dementia risk
2 Stress and Relaxation Memory book Safety
3
Stress & Relaxation
follow-up
Spaced Retrieval Behavioural
Coping
4 Nutrition Semantic
Association
Nutrition
5 Community Resources Intentions Cognitive Coping
6 Recreation Strategy
Application
Planning ahead
Troyer, Murphy, Anderson et al., (2008).
Neuropsych. Rehab, 18, 65-88
Cognitive Benefits of Better Hearing Arlinger, Lunner, Lyxell, & Pichora-Fuller, SJP, 2009
Older adults using hearing aids have better emotional and social well-being and greater longevity
(Appolonio et al., 1996; Cacciatore et al., 1999; Naramura et al., 1999; Seniors Research Group, 1999)
Reduced rate of decline in scores on a cognitive screening test over
a six-month period following intervention with hearing aids
(Allen et al., 2003)
Slower cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s cases with better hearing
(Peters, Potter, & Scholer, 1988; Wahl & Heyl, 2003)
Hearing aid use reduced problem behaviours judged by caregivers of adults with dementia
(Palmer et al., 1998)
Hearing Aid Fitting & Dementia Handling and Care:
Automated features, minimal manual controls
Remote controls intuitive/user friendly
Verbal prompts
Manageable battery doors (marked if low vision)
Removal cords
Safety loops for attachment to clothing for advanced CI
Facilitate phone use with hearing aid, so not removed
Establish routine for storage once removed
For previous users:
do not change style (or manufacturer) of aid
do not change battery size or style of door
Accessories to improve SNR (remote microphone, FM compatible)
Training:
Longer acclimatization period (6 -12 months)
Written instructions (large print, pictures, supported communication)
Schedule prompt and more frequent return visits
Counseling and AR; group/social model
Involve/instruct caregivers in management and AR
Good Hearing Health Could
Promote Good Cognitive Health
PRESERVE
communication and social interaction
• stave off social isolation
• slow cognitive decline
Kate Dupuis Marilyn Reed Ulrike Lemke-Kalis
Vancouver, British Columbia
World Congress of Audiology
September 18-22, 2016