Association of hearing impairment with brain volume changes in older adults

F R Lin, L Ferrucci, Y An, J O Goh, Jimit Doshi, E J Metter, C Davatzikos, M A Kraut, S M Resnick, F R Lin, L Ferrucci, Y An, J O Goh, Jimit Doshi, E J Metter, C Davatzikos, M A Kraut, S M Resnick

Abstract

Hearing impairment in older adults is independently associated in longitudinal studies with accelerated cognitive decline and incident dementia, and in cross-sectional studies, with reduced volumes in the auditory cortex. Whether peripheral hearing impairment is associated with accelerated rates of brain atrophy is unclear. We analyzed brain volume measurements from magnetic resonance brain scans of individuals with normal hearing versus hearing impairment (speech-frequency pure tone average>25 dB) followed in the neuroimaging substudy of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging for a mean of 6.4 years after the baseline scan (n=126, age 56-86 years). Brain volume measurements were performed with semi-automated region-of-interest (ROI) algorithms, and brain volume trajectories were analyzed with mixed-effect regression models adjusted for demographic and cardiovascular factors. We found that individuals with hearing impairment (n=51) compared to those with normal hearing (n=75) had accelerated volume declines in whole brain and regional volumes in the right temporal lobe (superior, middle, and inferior temporal gyri, parahippocampus, p<.05). These results were robust to adjustment for multiple confounders and were consistent with voxel-based analyses, which also implicated right greater than left temporal regions. These findings demonstrate that peripheral hearing impairment is independently associated with accelerated brain atrophy in whole brain and regional volumes concentrated in the right temporal lobe. Further studies investigating the mechanistic basis of the observed associations are needed.

Keywords: Aging; Brain volume; Hearing impairment; Hearing loss; MRI.

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

Dr. Lin reports being a consultant to Cochear Limited, on the scientific advisory board of Pfizer and Autifony, and a speaker for Med El and Amplifon.

Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Figures

Figure 1. Mean audiograms of individuals with…
Figure 1. Mean audiograms of individuals with normal hearing (n = 75) and hearing impairment (n = 51)
Error bars denote 95% confidence intervals of the mean.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Axial slices displaying lobar volumes and temporal lobe ROIs used in this study
Figure 3. Difference in average slopes of…
Figure 3. Difference in average slopes of RAVENS gray matter maps between those with hearing impairment versus normal hearing
Blue/green are regions in which individuals with hearing impairment compared to those with normal hearing had a higher rate of gray matter decrease. Color bars denote regression coefficient t-values (regression coefficient/standard error).

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