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Cochlear Implants Now More Accessible to Older Adults
Donna L. Sorkin, Craig A. Buchman. The Hearing Journal, 2022-12-17
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Benefits Beyond Auditory Rehabilitation Research conducted by Frank Lin and colleagues found that individuals with untreated mild, moderate, and severe hearing loss had, respectively, a twofold, threefold, and fivefold increased risk of dementia compared with individuals with normal hearing. 4 Research suggests that early auditory rehabilitation is important for people of all ages, including older adults, as it can provide benefits and improvements beyond hearing ability such as cognitive function and mitigation of depression. Lin et al. studied the impact of rehabilitation with hearing aids and the association with cognitive benefit in older adults. 5–7 Based on this research, older adults are at risk for a threefold to fivefold increased risk of dementia associated with their hearing loss—a risk that may also be mitigated via intervention with a cochlear implant. The study concluded that CI should be routinely discussed as having a possible positive effect on cognitive function in older adults with severe-to-profound hearing loss who are not sufficiently helped with hearing aids. Making CI available to older adults who can benefit from improved access to spoken language and environmental sounds is recognized as an opportunity to improve overall quality of life. The study found that age did not impact quality-of-life outcomes demonstrating that data from other studies on CI patients from younger demographics could be applied to Medicare beneficiaries. 10 STUDY FINDINGS LEADING TO THE NCD REVISION The final study findings published in the JAMA Otolaryngology--Head & Neck Surgery paper demonstrated important patient improvement in outcomes following CI. All the changes in speech perception performance were statistically significant (see Figure 1). AzBio indicates AzBio Sentence Test; CNC, Consonant Nucleus Consonant Monosyllabic Word Test; and CUNY, City University of New York sentence test. 11 Maybe more noteworthy, changes (improvements) in speech perception were associated with statistically significant and clinically meaningful positive changes in hearing-related quality-of-life metrics as assessed by the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) and Health Utilities Index Mark-3 (HUI-3). Overall, the results of the study clearly demonstrated that current multichannel cochlear implant systems provide meaningful improvements in communication for adult Medicare beneficiaries 65 years or older, with qualifying AZBio sentence recognition scores bet
Key findings
- Benefits Beyond Auditory Rehabilitation Research conducted by Frank Lin and colleagues found that individuals with untreated mild, moderate, and severe hearing loss had, respectively, a twofold, threefold, and fivefold increased risk of dementia compared with individuals with normal hearing. 4 Research suggests that early auditory rehabilitation is important for people of all ages, including older adults, as it can provide benefits and improvements beyond hearing ability such as cognitive function and mitigation of depression.
- Lin et al. studied the impact of rehabilitation with hearing aids and the association with cognitive benefit in older adults. 5–7 Based on this research, older adults are at risk for a threefold to fivefold increased risk of dementia associated with their hearing loss—a risk that may also be mitigated via intervention with a cochlear implant.
- The study concluded that CI should be routinely discussed as having a possible positive effect on cognitive function in older adults with severe-to-profound hearing loss who are not sufficiently helped with hearing aids.
- Making CI available to older adults who can benefit from improved access to spoken language and environmental sounds is recognized as an opportunity to improve overall quality of life.
- The study found that age did not impact quality-of-life outcomes demonstrating that data from other studies on CI patients from younger demographics could be applied to Medicare beneficiaries. 10 STUDY FINDINGS LEADING TO THE NCD REVISION The final study findings published in the JAMA Otolaryngology--Head & Neck Surgery paper demonstrated important patient improvement in outcomes following CI.
Why it matters
The article reports that untreated hearing loss is linked to a higher risk of dementia, and that cochlear implants should be discussed as possibly helping cognitive function in older adults with severe-to-profound hearing loss. It does not show that cochlear implants prevent or cure Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 28/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on institution's track record, so that was left out: it earned 27 of the 97 points we could judge it on, which is 28 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The Hearing Journal) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | The Hearing Journal: journal h-index 33 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2022 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 1 / 7 | Cited 2 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.3 citations a year over 6 year(s) since 2022 |
| Impact for its field and year | 1 / 6 | Cited 0.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Craig A. Buchman: h-index 59 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 0 institution(s) in 0 countries — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 27 / 97 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 27 of the 97 points we could judge it on is 28 out of 100. |
| Total | 28 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Sorkin, D. L., & Buchman, C. A. (2022). Cochlear Implants Now More Accessible to Older Adults. The Hearing Journal. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.hj.0000911292.81161.cb
Vancouver
Sorkin DL, Buchman CA. Cochlear Implants Now More Accessible to Older Adults. The Hearing Journal. 2022. doi:10.1097/01.hj.0000911292.81161.cb.
BibTeX
@article{sorkin2022-a9d2ef8f,
author = {Sorkin, Donna L. and Buchman, Craig A.},
title = {{Cochlear Implants Now More Accessible to Older Adults}},
journal = {The Hearing Journal},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1097/01.hj.0000911292.81161.cb},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1097/01.hj.0000911292.81161.cb}
}
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