Cognitive and auditory performance of adults and elderly people referred for basic audilogical tests

Abstract

The proven increase in the life expectancy of the Brazilian and world population brings with it increasingly frequent health conditions, involving the decline of cognitive and sensory functions, such as hearing loss, resulting from the natural aging process. Recent research has used cognitive screening instruments in association with auditory performance, aiming to better understand this relationship and, consequently, support early intervention programs. Aim: to associate auditory performance, including the results of the basic audiological assessment and the Dichotic Digits Test (DDT), with the performance on a cognitive screening instrument - Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) in adults and elderly people referred for audiological assessment at a university hospital. Methods: a descriptive, quantitative and prospective study, to be submitted to the Research Ethics Committee of the Institution. Adults and elderly people who have been referred for basic audiological evaluation at the Otorhinolaryngology Outpatient Clinic of University Hospital will be selected, based on the following criteria: both sexes; age over 40 years; with normal hearing and/or mild to moderately severe mixed and/or sensorineural hearing loss, according to the World Health Organization classification (2020) or hearing loss limited to high frequencies, and not using hearing aids. Subjects who present a diagnosis of neurological, cognitive, psychiatric impairment, and/or syndromes that affect language and hearing will be excluded, as well as subjects who make continuous use of drugs with direct action on the Central Nervous System. The procedures will be data collection in medical records, including basic audiological assessment, anamnesis, and cognitive screening using MOCA and DDT - binaural integration and separation modalities. Expected results: It is expected that correlations will be found between the predetermined variables with the degree of hearing loss, DDT performance, and MOCA, and that the findings may support discussions about the relationship between cognition and hearing and the importance of intervention early hearing.(AU)