screening test test dementia in people with hearing loss (hearing impairment or deafness)

Last edited 08/2023 and last reviewed 08/2023

Screening test test dementia in people with hearing loss

• more than 3 in 4 people aged over 75 years have hearing problems - thus any people with dementia also have hearing loss (1)
  
  
• Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is commonly used to diagnose cognitive impairment or dementia
  
  
  • a validated, sensitive and reliable cognitive test for people with hearing problems and is now available for use
    • adapted existing MoCA items for people with hearing impairment by presenting instructions and stimuli in written rather than spoken format (MoCA-H)
      
      
    • closely matches the standard test for identifying dementia in people with hearing loss
      
      
    • asks similar questions, takes a similar length of time to complete and assesses the same cognitive areas
      
      
    • MoCA-H tool is available from https://mocacognition.com/
      
      
    • MoCA-H is a sensitive and reliable means of identifying dementia among adults with acquired hearing impairment.

Reference:

• Dawes, P, Reeves, D, Yeung, WK, et al. Development and validation of the Montreal cognitive assessment for people with hearing impairment (MoCA-H). J Am Geriatr Soc. 2023; 71(5): 1485-1494. doi:10.1111/jgs.18241