OBJECTIVES: Latino older adults experience a high burden of untreated hearing loss and are underrepresented in research on hearing-related cognitive aging. Because hearing loss is a leading potentially modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline, evaluating whether the association between hearing loss and cognitive performance differs by hearing aid use may clarify a plausible pathway for mitigating cognitive...
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Findings add to the evidence linking untreated hearing loss to worse cognitive outcomes, but this cross-sectional design cannot prove causation; no immediate practice change is warranted until longitudinal data in Latino populations are available.
Latino older adults are underrepresented in hearing-cognition research, and population-specific data are needed to address health equity gaps in audiology screening and referral practices.
- 01Cross-sectional design examining hearing loss and cognitive aging in older Latino adults.
- 02Addresses a significant representation gap in hearing-cognition literature.
- 03Cannot establish causality due to cross-sectional methodology.
- 04Findings may inform culturally targeted screening programs.
- 05Adds to growing evidence base linking untreated hearing loss and cognitive decline.
Untreated hearing loss is associated with cognitive decline in older Latino adults.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42526343
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.actpsy.2026.107487.
- Journal
- Acta Psychologica
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 3
- Population
- Older Latino adults with and without untreated hearing loss
- Intervention
- Untreated hearing loss (observational exposure)
- Comparator
- Older Latino adults without hearing loss
Primary outcomes
Cognitive aging measures; Cognitive test performance