Falls are one of the costliest mishaps affecting older adults, and there is evidence suggesting a link between age-related hearing loss and falling. Dr. Laura Campos, a clinical audiologist at the University of Colorado, recently joined Brian Taylor to discuss her study's focus on hearing aid usage and the potential for reduced fall risk in older adults. The research revealed that individuals with hearing loss face a 2.4 times higher risk of experiencing falls compared to their normal-hearing counterparts. Dr. Campos and her team investigated whether hearing aid use could mitigate this risk.

The study findings demonstrated that individuals who consistently wore hearing aids, particularly for at least four hours a day, exhibited a significantly lower likelihood of experiencing falls. While the study couldn't establish causality, it underscored a strong association between consistent hearing aid usage and reduced fall risk. Dr. Campos emphasized that incorporating discussions about the potential link between hearing loss, cognitive decline, and falls into clinical practice could offer valuable insights for clinicians. She also highlighted the need for further research to uncover the underlying mechanisms driving these associations and the potential for using objective outcome measures to track the impact of hearing aid usage on fall risk over time.

Reference:

Campos, L., Prochazka, A., Anderson, M., Kaizer, A., Foster, C., & Hullar, T. (2023). Consistent hearing aid use is associated with lower fall prevalence and risk in older adults with hearing loss. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 10.1111/jgs.18461. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.18461

Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37314100/

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