Citation

Teplitxky A, Gautier J, Lievre M, Duval G, Annweiler C, Boucher S. Aging Clin. Exp. Res. 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s40520-023-02350-w

PMID

36786968

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Falls are associated with hearing loss, which might be explained by the onset of gait disorders. The objective of this study was to examine the association between Age-Related Hearing Loss (ARHL) and gait disorders assessed with GAITrite(®) walkway in a population of fallers aged 75 and over while accounting for the vestibular function.

METHODS: We examined data from 53 older patients (mean 84.2 ± 5.1 years; 64% women) included after a GAITrite(®) walkway assessment together with hearing and vestibular tests. People with high-frequency hearing loss, higher than 10% of the age and sex-matched population with the worst hearing, composed untimely ARHL group (n = 30), whereas all others had expected ARHL (n = 23). Presbyvestibulopathy was assessed accordingly to Barany Society criteria.

RESULTS: After adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, Mini-Mental State Examination score and presbyvestibulopathy, we found an increase in stride length mean in the untimely ARHL group (p = 0.046), but no between-group differences in stride length variability, cadence or velocity. Untimely ARHL was not associated with presbyvestibulopathy.

CONCLUSIONS: Untimely ARHL in older fallers was not associated with gait disorders in the studied population.

Language: en

Keywords

Aging; Gait; Age-related hearing loss; Older people; Presbycusis; Walk