Hearing Loss Tied to Poorer Cognitive-Motor Dual-Task Outcomes in MCI

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By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com

via HealthDay

TUESDAY, April 14, 2026 -- For individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), hearing loss affects cognitive-motor dual-task performance, and multidomain training including aerobic-resistance exercise plus cognitive training improves performance, according to a study published online Jan. 29 in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.

Rachel I. Downey, Ph.D., from Concordia University in Montreal, and colleagues examined whether hearing ability affects cognitive-motor dual-task performance at baseline and after training using secondary data from 75 participants (Mage = 73.66 ± 6.67 years) with MCI enrolled in the SYNERGIC trial. Self-report and behavioral measures were used to assess hearing ability. A 20-week intervention was completed: exercise (aerobic-resistance exercise + sham cognitive training), multidomain training (aerobic-resistance exercise + cognitive training), or placebo (balance and toning exercise + sham cognitive training) by 31, 32, and 12 participants, respectively.

The researchers found that poorer hearing predicted worse dual-task performance at baseline, especially among men. In participants with a greater degree of self-reported hearing complaints, dual-task gait variability improved significantly following multidomain training. Women with more hearing complaints improved more across all interventions, while men with poorer objective hearing and women with better hearing showed the greatest gains in the multidomain group. Lower cognitive scores predicted greater improvements after multidomain training in those with poorer hearing, but a decline was seen after placebo training.

"This study shows that even if an individual has poor hearing and poor cognitive performance, their brain is still plastic enough to benefit from this kind of training," Downey said in a statement.

One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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Source: HealthDay

Posted : 2026-04-15 02:08

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