Abstract
Background: The aging of the world´s population have led to an increase in the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases.
Aims: The study aims to analyze the prevention of cognitive impairment through the application of audiocognitive rehabilitation (NeuRea Method) on people with hearing impairment.
Methods: A total of 409 patients met the inclusion criteria. They were divided into an Experimental (EG) and a Control Group (CG). The EG underwent an audiological and speech therapy program. These programs included neuroadaptation adjustment of hearing aids and rehabilitation of impaired auditory and cognitive functions. Patients without cognitive alterations in EG also received cognitive training. The CG did not receive any interventions. Both groups were cognitively assessed at the beginning and at the end of the study.
Results: Results showed that 85.16% of the EG obtained better results in the cognitive test, and no one contained worse results, compared to a 3% improvement in CG, 4% obtained worse results. 81% of the EG patients without cognitive impairment also improved.
Conclusion: The NeuRea method can be used as an additional treatment for wearing hearing aids to improve the language comprehension capacity of people with hearing loss, reduce their cognitive load, and improve their cognition whether already altered or not.