ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences2021
Association of Hearing Impairment With Higher-Level Physical Functioning and Walking Endurance: Results From the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.
Article in The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of cochlear implantation on gait performance in adults with hearing impairment: A systematic review.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Single Intratympanic Injection of Proprietary Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (OTO-413) in Subjects with Speech-in-Noise Hearing Impairment: a Randomized, Dose Escalating, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase 1/2 Study.Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology : JARO · 2026Trial
- Effects of hearing intervention on physical function: A secondary analysis of the ACHIEVE study.PloS one · 2026Trial
- Effects of Hearing Intervention on Physical Activity Measured by Accelerometry: A Secondary Analysis of the ACHIEVE Study.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2025Trial
- Impact of a Hearing Intervention on the Levels of Leisure-Time Physical Activity and T.V. Viewing in Older Adults: Results from a Secondary Analysis of the ACHIEVE Study.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2025Trial
- Effect of hearing intervention on communicative function: A secondary analysis of the ACHIEVE randomized controlled trial.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2024Trial
- A Hearing Intervention and Health-Related Quality of Life in Older Adults: A Secondary Analysis of the ACHIEVE Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2024Trial
- Hearing Loss Among Older Adults: Epidemiology, Disparities, and Gaps in Research.Annual review of public health · 2026Review
- Which aspects of the everyday behavior of older dogs correlate with performance on a visuo-spatial memory test and the canine cognitive dysfunction rating scale (CCDR)?Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2026Article
- Association Between Hearing Aid Use and Physical Activity Levels in Older Adults with Hearing Loss.Audiology research · 2025Article
- The Effect of Hearing Aid Amplification on Gait Parameters: A Pilot Study Using Ear-Worn Motion Sensors.Audiology research · 2025Article
- The Relationship between Chronic Unilateral Hearing Loss, Balance Function, and Falls Is Not Informed by Vestibular Status.Otology & neurotology : official publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology · 2025Article
- Pathophysiological insights and therapeutic developments in age-related hearing loss: a narrative review.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2025Review
- Depression and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Older Adults With Hearing Loss in the ACHIEVE Study.Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society · 2024Article
- Association between hearing loss and physical performance in patients on maintenance hemodialysis.Kidney research and clinical practice · 2024Article
- Association between Hearing Aid Use and Cognitive Function in Persons with Hearing Impairment Stratified by Cardiovascular Risk.Journal of personalized medicine · 2024Article
- Hearing Loss and Physical Activity Among Older Adults in the United States.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2024Article
- Exploration of the factors influencing hearing disability in older adults of China: a nested case-control study.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- The association of hearing loss with frailty among community-dwelling older adults: findings from the National Health and Aging Trends Study.BMC geriatrics · 2023Article
- Hearing Loss and Frailty among Older Adults: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAlthough hearing impairment (HI) is linked to poorer physical functioning, the longitudinal associations between HI and higher-level functional measures are unclear.
methodData are from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (2012-2019). Using pure-tone audiometry, we categorized hearing into normal, mild, and moderate or greater HI. Physical function was assessed with the expanded Short Physical Performance Battery (eSPPB) and walking endurance with time to walk 400 m. Multivariable and mixed-effects linear models tested the hypotheses that participants with HI, at baseline, have poorer physical performance and walking endurance, and faster decline over time (up to 6 measurements). In a subset (n = 526), we further adjusted for vestibular function. Among participants with HI, we evaluated the differences in eSPPB scores and walking endurance between hearing aid users and nonusers.
resultsOf 831 participants, 26% had mild, and 17% moderate or greater HI. After adjustment for demographics and medical history, moderate or greater impairment versus normal hearing was associated with poorer function (0.17 [95% CI: 0.09, 0.26] lower eSPPB score, and 13.3 [95% CI: 3.31, 23.4] seconds slower 400-m walk time) and faster decline in these parameters over 6 years. Adjustment for vestibular function did not attenuate these associations. Hearing aid users walked 400 m 24 seconds faster than nonusers (p = .001).
conclusionModerate or greater HI is associated with poorer initial and greater decline in higher-level physical performance. The observation that hearing aid users had better walking endurance suggests that screening for and treatment of HI may delay or slow progression of hearing-related functional decline.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.