Effects of Hearing Aid Use on Individuals Diagnosed with Hearing Loss and Dementia: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: The assumption that hearing rehabilitation could improve quality of life and reduce dementia risk in people with hearing loss is a subject that needs further studies, especially clinical trials. It is necessary to determine the effects of hearing aid use, as part of hearing rehabilitation, among people diagnosed with dementia. Objective: To systematically review the literature to evaluate the effects of hearing aid use on cognition and quality of life of people with dementia. Methods: Protocol for this systematic review was registered (CRD42023387187). The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, MEDLINE, Scopus, CINAHL, and Web of Science databases, as well as grey literature, including Google Scholar and ResearchGate, were systematically searched for clinical trials using MeSH terms. The PICOS principle was used to develop the inclusion criteria: population (P): adults and older adults, individuals diagnosed with dementia and hearing loss; intervention (I): rehabilitation with hearing aids; control (C): not using a hearing aid; outcome (O): cognitive and/or quality of life assessment using validated tests; study design (S): clinical trial. Results: The initial search yielded 576 studies, five of which met the inclusion criteria for qualitative analyses. Two of the included studies were randomized clinical trials, and three were crossover clinical trials, demonstrating the lack of studies on the subject. Four studies included participants with Alzheimer’s disease. Quality of life was found to improve with the use of hearing aids, and hearing rehabilitation was not shown to affect cognitive outcomes. Conclusions: Hearing aid use appears to have a positive impact on quality of life.