Age-related Hearing Loss, Cognitive Performance, and Metabolic Risk in Healthy Adults: A Seven-Year Longitudinal Study.

Our results are in accord with extant hypotheses about auditory-cognitive associations in old age (e.g., social isolation, cognitive load, increased inflammation, reduced gene expression, other microvascular or neuropathological factors). They also echo previous reports underscoring the need for improving access to hearing aids and other rehabilitative services aimed at reducing hearing loss. If applied early in the aging process, such interventions may mitigate cognitive decline.