Cochlear Implants May Help Ward Off Depression In Older Adults

New research published in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery show that older adults who receive cochlear implants will also gain improved speech perception, cognition and mood.

For the study, researchers examined the relationship between both cognitive function and hearing restoration as the relationship between function and hearing restoration with cochlear implants in 94 elderly patients with profound postlingual hearing loss. All participants received their implants from 10 tertiary referral centers during the years of 2006 and 2009, in which they were evaluated before implantation as well for six to 12 months following the procedure.

As research shows that hearing impairment has been associated with cognitive decline in those over the age of 65, cochlear implants are oftentimes chosen to help some of the effects associated with this issue.

Study results revealed that cochlear implants helped to significantly improve not only speech perception in patients but also the quality of life and depression scores. In fact, 12 months after implantation, 67 percent of the patients no longer had any signs of depression when compared to only 59 percent before implantation.

Furthermore, about 80 percent who displayed the poorest cognitive scores before the implantation showed significant improvement a year following. However, those with the best cognitive performance before implantation showed stable results that followed the implantation of a minuscule decline.

"Our study demonstrates that hearing rehabilitation using cochlear implants in the elderly is associated with improvements in impaired cognitive function. Further research is needed to evaluate the long-term influence of hearing restoration on cognitive decline and its effect on public health," the study concluded.