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The utilization of hearing aids shows promise in mitigating the metabolic decline observed in the brains of adults grappling with mild cognitive impairment, as per findings presented at the 2024 Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Annual Meeting.

Individuals who adopted hearing aids displayed a lesser rate of decline in brain metabolism compared to those with untreated hearing loss, particularly evident in the frontal regions of the cortex renowned for their significance in executive functions or susceptibility to age-related decline.

Natalie Quilala, an undergraduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles, said "While the impact of hearing loss and use of hearing aids upon the risk of developing dementia has been studied previously, the cross-comparison between subjects with hearing loss and subjects with hearing aids and changes in brain metabolism over time have not yet been elucidated."

According to Medical Express, the study utilized longitudinal 18F-FDG PET scan data and neuropsychological assessments among subjects diagnosed with hearing loss, with and without the utilization of hearing aids, sourced from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database. Subjects with amnestic mild cognitive impairment underwent screening for hearing impairments, with annual FDG PET brain scans archived at baseline and subsequent years.

They were then categorized into groups: untreated hearing loss, treated hearing loss by hearing aids, and a demographically matched control group devoid of diagnosed hearing impairment. Analysis of brain metabolism in 47 standardized volumes of interest from each FDG-PET scan was conducted, comparing within- and between-groups in rate-of-change analyses.

Results revealed that the hearing loss group exhibited significant annual metabolic decline in six frontal cortical regions and two superior temporal regions, whereas the control group demonstrated significant decline only in two superior temporal regions. Notably, the hearing aid group did not experience significant annual metabolic decline in any frontal cortical region.

Moreover, comparison of rates of decline indicated that multiple frontal cortical regions declined significantly faster in the untreated hearing loss group than in the hearing aid group, with no significant difference observed between the hearing aid group and the control group.

Quilala noted, "These results suggest that while hearing loss can accelerate the decline in brain metabolism that occurs in people suffering from mild cognitive impairment, this acceleration may be largely mitigated through the use of hearing aids."