Correlations between the audiological evaluation and cognitive screening in elderly

ABSTRACT Purpose: to investigate the relationship between the listening performance for pure tone, speech and cognitive performance in elderly patients, considering that the deterioration of auditory input and cognitive skills are common to this population, and it can cause disturbance in communication and the individual functionality. Methods: this is a cross-sectional observational study in which 103 elderly patients, had their hearing assessed by audiometry and speech, and the cognitive performance assessed by the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Descriptive analyzes and association of tonal average variables was performed in frequencies of 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz, Index Speech Recognition (SDT) and MMSE scores, and it was adopted a 5% significance level. Results: it was found a high prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss of varying degrees in elderly patients, and the presence of alterations in speech recognition and MMSE results, confirming that presbycusis and a possible cognitive decline are common to this population. There was no statistical significance in the analysis of the relationship between the pure tone audiometry and MMSE, however, the results found in SDT and MMSE, showed the existence of a significant relationship. Conclusion: there was no association between hearing loss and cognitive decline in the elderly population studied. However, the analyzes of the speech recognition and cognitive performance indicate that the presence of alterations in speech recognition increases the chance of cognitive impairment.