Background

Approximately 25-30% of elderly people present with hearing loss. Presbycusis is due to degenerative changes typical of aging. Functional status is defined as the ability to perform actions for daily living, support oneself and subsist independently. The cognitive state is the knowledge acquired to process any type of information to assess certain aspects.

Objective

To determine if there is any relationship between the prevalence of hearing loss and the functional and cognitive impairment in the elderly.

Material and methods

Prospective, cross-sectional, observational and analytical study in elderly patients at the Hospital Español de México. An abbreviated medical history, audiological study, and functional (Lawton-Brody) and cognitive (Minimental) scales were performed.

Results

A sample of 35 older adults was gathered, and tonal audiometry and the application of functional and cognitive scales were made, finding that there is a relation of the functional (p = 0.0260) and cognitive scales (p = 0.0049) with a higher degree of hearing loss.

Discussion

A higher degree of hearing loss impacts the score of the functional and cognitive scales; even with superficial hearing loss, the scales have a significant change.

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