A recent study into the effect of cochlear implants on older Australians with severe to profound hearing loss shows improved cognitive performance and delay in cognitive decline
The COCHLEA (Cochlear Implant Outcomes and Cognitive Health – Longitudinal Evaluation of Adults) study, conducted by the University of Melbourne in collaboration with The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital (Eye and Ear) and the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health followed patients eligible for a cochlear implant through their journey from before surgery with check-ins at 18, 36 and 54 months after cochlear implantation.
Professor Julia Sarant, Audiologist, Lead of the Hearing Loss & Cognition Program in the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology at the University of Melbourne and former Eye and Ear staff member, led the research and believes its result will help shape the way we look at cognitive decline in older Australians with significant hearing loss.
“This research shows that the cognitive performance of participants with cochlear implants improved significantly on executive function and working memory and remained stable on the other tests of cognitive function at 4.5-year follow-up,” Professor Sarant explains.
“In comparison, participants in the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers & Lifestyle Flagship Study of Aging (AIBL) at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health declined significantly at follow-up on two cognitive functions and were stable on two, despite having much better hearing.”
It is unusual to see cognitive performance improving significantly in older adults and for this to be sustained over 4+ years. These results suggest that cochlear implant use may improve cognitive performance and delay cognitive decline in older adults with severe-profound hearing loss.
The research participants ranged from 61 years old to 90 years old, demonstrating that it’s never too late to consider taking action to improve your hearing and quality of life.
“Fewer than 10% of adults who would benefit from cochlear implants ever receive them, so there is much work to be done on raising awareness as to who could gain better hearing and other outcomes with an implant,” explains Professor Robert Briggs, co-contributor to the study and Head of the Cochlear Implant Clinic at the Eye and Ear.
“When older Australians start experiencing difficulty with hearing despite using hearing aids, they are often not aware there are other options. It’s a conversation that people should be having with their health professional or audiologist, if their hearing aids are not working well, they should be asking ‘what other options are there?’.”
John Fisher’s challenges with hearing loss began when he was in a car accident in 1963 which led to otosclerosis, a condition where the bones in the ear bind together. Despite the initial success of the stapedectomy in 1970, John’s hearing began to deteriorate in the 1980s, leading to social isolation. By the 1990s, he experienced significant hearing loss and social isolation.
“There started to be signs that I was speaking too loudly and people were distancing themselves because everybody was getting sick to death of repeating themselves. I wouldn’t watch television and things like that because I simply couldn’t hear it, and I didn’t listen to much music. Basically, I was getting more and more isolated at home and in the family,” recalls John.
“By about 2000, I was looking for hearing aids and I went on a long and painful ride not getting anywhere and going more downhill… In 2010 when the stapedectomy failed, I wound up being virtually completely deaf in the right ear. And then I was in big trouble.”
After a visit to an audiologist who suggested John would be a good candidate for a cochlear implant, John came to an appointment at the Eye and Ear in April 2016. By October in the same year, he had his surgery, and two months later, he had his cochlear turned on for the first time.
“It was almost immediate. It was just like I touched two wires together and I could hear sounds. I was hearing speech within a couple of weeks…I’d like more people to consider a cochlear implant. I see a lot of people around who are who are deaf and they don’t do anything about it,” John said.
Grateful for his care at the hospital, John applied to volunteer at the Eye and Ear in 2021 and now supports other patients navigate their journey at the hospital.
This study is ongoing and will continue to monitor study participants over a longer timeframe.
