Article by Matheus Ghossain Barbosa, Déborah Oliveira MICARE researcher, Maria Cecília Martinelli, Ana Ágata Mezzomo Keinert, Maria Fernanda Lima-Costa, Claudia Kimie Suemoto and Cleusa P. Ferri

Hearing loss, depression, and changes in cognitive function are common symptoms in older people. This team of researchers decided to investigate whether their existence is related. To do this, they took a sample of 9,412 people aged 50+ in Brazil and followed them up throughout the years 2015 and 2016. Of these, complete data were obtained for 7,837 people.

Results

The researchers concluded that hearing loss can affect some specific cognitive domains and generate depressive symptoms among older people, while the use of hearing aids can minimize depressive symptoms.