Abstract
Age-related hearing loss, presbycusis, is one of the most frequent sensory impairments in the ageing population. It is associated with pathologies of both inner ear and the central parts of the auditory system.
Intact cognitive functions are necessary for the proper processing of complex auditory information. Since the beginning of the 80s, there is an increasing amount of evidence linking presbycusis to cognitive impairment and increased risk of dementia.
The exact cause, which connects these two pathologies, is still unknown, although there are several hypotheses with various levels of evidence available. This review aims to describe the role of cognitive functions in the auditory processing, to summarize published evidence for a relationship between the hearing loss and cognitive impairment with a possible mechanism, which would explain this link.
In addition, we discuss specific features of cognitive assessment in a person with hearing loss and describe the effect of hearing loss treatment, e. g. with hearing aids, cochlear implant and cognitive-hearing training on cognitive functions.