Is hearing loss an early sign of dementia?

Huliq
October 12, 2008
Is hearing loss an early sign of Alzheimer's disease or related dementias? Central auditory testing may act as an early screen for cognitive decline in the elderly, researchers have said:

In a study of 313 patients at least 71 years old, several measures of central auditory processing were impaired in those diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and, to a lesser extent, those with memory impairment but not meeting criteria for Alzheimer's, reported George A. Gates, M.D., of the University of Washington, and colleagues in a recent issue of Archives of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery.

Central auditory processing is the brain function involved in interpreting complex sounds such as speech
"Hearing speech involves detection, recognition, and comprehension, the latter being clearly a cognitive task," said Dr. Gates.

Such hearing problems often show up as an inability to....read the whole story