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56/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 56 out of 100. Digital health tools

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Plain-language summary

Purpose The purpose of this systematic review was to assess studies of treating hearing loss in older adults with cognitive impairment. Of interest to this review is identifying clinical adaptations that may be used to tailor hearing loss treatment to older adults with cognitive impairment in order to better serve this vulnerable population. Method A systematic search with controlled vocabulary and key word terms was applied to PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. Search concepts included terms related to hearing loss and cognitive impairment. The overall search resulted in 4,945 unique references, 50 of which were eligible for full-text review and 13 of which were included in the final review. Included manuscripts were categorized according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's levels of evidence and the National Institutes of Health Quality Assessment Tools. Results Only 1 study implemented a randomized controlled trial design to assess cognitive function and behavioral symptoms after treatment with hearing aids. Other quasiexperimental studies evaluated dementia-related symptoms and/or auditory function after treating hearing loss in pre/post research designs. Finally, evidence from case studies suggested that hearing loss treatment is feasible, reduces stressful communication for caregivers, and improves dementia-related behavior problems. Conclusion Based on the systematic review, evidence suggests that treating hearing loss in persons with cognitive impairment can have benefits to communication and quality of life. Because of the quasi- and nonexperimental nature of most of the evidence found in this review, further studies are necessary to understand the effect of treatment in the context of a variable and progressive disease.

What this study adds

Evidence grade: High

This is a trial. This systematic review found only one randomized controlled trial assessing cognitive function after hearing aid treatment, with other evidence coming from quasiexperimental studies and case reports. It shows the evidence on treating hearing loss in cognitively impaired older adults is limited and does not establish a treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.

Taken from this record’s own fields, not from reading the paper. The grade is assigned from the abstract’s wording; what that means.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Mamo, S. K., Reed, N. S., Price, C., Occhipinti, D., Pletnikova, A., Lin, F. R., et al. (2018). Hearing Loss Treatment in Older Adults With Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review. Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR. https://doi.org/10.1044/2018_jslhr-h-18-0077

Vancouver

Mamo SK, Reed NS, Price C, Occhipinti D, Pletnikova A, Lin FR, et al. Hearing Loss Treatment in Older Adults With Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review. Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR. 2018. doi:10.1044/2018_jslhr-h-18-0077. PMID: 30304320.

BibTeX

@article{mamo2018-30304320,
  author  = {Mamo, S. K. and Reed, N. S. and Price, C. and Occhipinti, D. and Pletnikova, A. and Lin, F. R. and Oh, E. S.},
  title   = {{Hearing Loss Treatment in Older Adults With Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review}},
  journal = {Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR},
  year    = {2018},
  doi     = {10.1044/2018_jslhr-h-18-0077},
  pmid    = {30304320},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1044/2018_jslhr-h-18-0077}
}

Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

How to read this study

Design: this is a trial. Participants are assigned to a treatment or a comparison, so the key questions are who was enrolled, whether the comparison group got a placebo or nothing, how long people were followed, and whether the result is on a measure that matters to patients or on a biomarker. Open-label and small trials can overstate benefit.
Size: the record gives no participant count. Look for one in the original before trusting a pattern.
Effect: the record gives no effect size, so the summary above cannot say how large any difference was.

What the evidence grade means here

This page is graded high. alzhub.org assigns the grade automatically from keywords in the abstract, not from reading the paper. High means the abstract mentions a randomized design, a meta-analysis or a systematic review. It can add at most 5 of the 100 points in the study score, and it is a label about design, not a verdict on whether the findings are true.

New to reading papers? Six questions to ask of any Alzheimer’s study · how we score.

Key findings

The overall search resulted in 4,945 unique references, 50 of which were eligible for full-text review and 13 of which were included in the final review.
Results Only 1 study implemented a randomized controlled trial design to assess cognitive function and behavioral symptoms after treatment with hearing aids.
Finally, evidence from case studies suggested that hearing loss treatment is feasible, reduces stressful communication for caregivers, and improves dementia-related behavior problems.
Conclusion Based on the systematic review, evidence suggests that treating hearing loss in persons with cognitive impairment can have benefits to communication and quality of life.

Why it matters

This systematic review found only one randomized controlled trial assessing cognitive function after hearing aid treatment, with other evidence coming from quasiexperimental studies and case reports. It shows the evidence on treating hearing loss in cognitively impaired older adults is limited and does not establish a treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.

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Study details

Study designrandomized controlled trial
Evidence strengthHigh

How this study scored 56/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a systematic review of all the studies on the question. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported and studied in people because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR)
Journal's citation record	2 / 4	Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research: journal h-index 223 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	12 / 12	A systematic review of all the studies on the question (from PubMed type “Systematic Review”)
Strength of evidence	5 / 5	Rated “high” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	2 / 5	2018 — within 10 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)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	A review of other studies — randomization is not credited here
Times cited	4 / 7	Cited 62 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	2 / 5	6.2 citations a year over 10 year(s) since 2018
Impact for its field and year	1 / 6	Cited 0.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	1 / 6	Cited by 2 other studies in this library
Still being cited	2 / 4	Cited 24 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author Esther S. Oh: h-index 54 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	Johns Hopkins University: institution h-index 2,306 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	1 / 3	OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 30304320)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	56 / 100	—

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Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).

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