Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40696015›Full record

Trial reportScientific reports2025

Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation enhanced working memory in older adults with age-related hearing loss.

Junyoung Shin, Shinhee Noh, Jimin Park, Sang Beom Jun, Jee Eun Sung

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Junyoung ShinDepartment of Communication Disorders, Ewha Womans University, 52 Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemoon-gu, Seoul, 03760, South Korea.
Shinhee NohDepartment of Communication Disorders, Ewha Womans University, 52 Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemoon-gu, Seoul, 03760, South Korea.
Jimin ParkDepartment of Communication Disorders, Ewha Womans University, 52 Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemoon-gu, Seoul, 03760, South Korea.
Sang Beom JunDepartment of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 03760, South Korea. juns@ewha.ac.kr.
Jee Eun SungDepartment of Communication Disorders, Ewha Womans University, 52 Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemoon-gu, Seoul, 03760, South Korea. jeesung@ewha.ac.kr.

Funding

National Research Council of Science and Technology CAP21053-000National Research Foundation of Korea 2022R1A2C2005062
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is associated with an increased risk of dementia, highlighting the need for early interventions to support cognitive functioning. Despite promising evidence supporting transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) for mitigating cognitive impairment, its impact on working memory (WM) in older adults with ARHL is unexplored. This study is the first attempt to investigate taVNS effects on WM in the older adults with hearing impairment (HI) and with typical hearing (TH). WM capacity was assessed using n-back tasks, varying by WM domains (verbal and visuo-spatial) and complexity levels (1-back and 2-back). Participants underwent a two-session, within-subjects, randomized crossover, single-blind sham-controlled protocol, receiving 20 min of continuous stimulation in the active session, whereas only 30 s at the start and end in the sham session. The HI group performed significantly worse than the TH group on the 2-back tasks. Within the HI group, taVNS significantly enhanced performance across all WM domains and complexity levels compared to the sham condition. These findings suggest that taVNS enhances WM in hearing-impaired older adults, underscoring its potential as a clinical intervention for addressing WM challenges associated with ARHL.

Indexed as

Hearing LossMemory, Short-TermPresbycusisTranscutaneous Electric Nerve StimulationVagus Nerve StimulationAgedAged, 80 and overCross-Over StudiesFemaleHumansMaleSingle-Blind MethodAge-related hearing lossCognitive interventionN-back taskTranscutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulationWorking memory

Identifiers

PMID40696015
PMCPMC12284006

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.