Screening and Recognition of Cognitive Impairment in Older People Visiting Hearing Aid Dispensers in the Netherlands

Objectives: This study aims to determine how prevalent suspected cognitive impairment is in older people visiting hearing aid dispensers, and to assess whether hearing aid dispensers ' judgment on cognition was in accordance with the outcome of a cognitive screening. Design: This observational study was conducted between April and May 2022. Setting and Participants: Four private hearing aid retail stores in the Netherlands, where cognitive impairment was screened in people aged >= 60 years. Methods: The Mini -Cog was used for cognitive screening. In addition, hearing aid dispensers were asked to provide their professional judgment if they suspected cognitive impairment. Results: Of the total 239 older individuals screened, 133 were men [56%, mean age: 79 years (SD 8.6)], and 51 (21.3%) had abnormal outcomes on the Mini -Cog test. The recognition of possible cognitive impairment by the hearing aid dispensers compared to the outcome of the Mini -Cog resulted in correct predictions for 183 of the 239 individuals. Conclusion and Implications: Cognitive screening in hearing -impaired older adults who visit a hearing aid dispenser suggests that cognitive impairment might be present in approximately 1 in 5 individuals. Hearing aid dispensers ' response to the presence of a cognitive impairment was in 2 of 3 in accordance with an abnormal outcome on cognitive screening. To improve hearing care for people with cognitive impairment, it might be important to enhance hearing care professionals ' recognition of cognitive impairment in older individuals. (c) 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of AMDA - The Society for Post -Acute and Long -Term Care Medicine. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).