Does Hearing Impairment Affect Physical Function?
Willa D. Brenowitz, Margaret Wallhagen
Abstract
Age-related hearing impairment is emerging as a potential risk factor for a broad range of poor health outcomes in older adults. The article by Martinez-Amezcua et al 1 provides additional insights on the association between hearing loss and physical functioning and points to future research directions that could tease apart the underlying mechanisms and inform intervention strategies. Although hearing loss is not typically considered an important predictor of physical function, prior work suggests an association. Martinez-Amezcua et al 1 examined the association between peripheral hearing loss, as measured with pure tone audiometry, and lower extremity physical functioning, as measured by the short physical performance battery (SPPB), in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study. In this cohort of community-dwelling US Black and White older adults, worse