Study published into brain hearing test for dementia

A study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association has suggested measuring how well the brain processes sound, rather than how well the ears detect it, could help diagnose dementia.

Researchers at UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology Dementia Research Centre performed nonverbal ‘brain hearing’ tests on their study participants, which included people with Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia and language-led dementia (primary progressive aphasia) as well as healthy volunteers.

Participants had to identify one sound played into one ear, while a different sound was played into the other, and were asked to point to pictures matching the sounds. The aim of the task was to show how well the brain separates and interprets competing sounds and was particularly accurate in identifying Alzheimer’s disease. 

Dr Chris Hardy, Joint Lead Author of the study and 2024/25 Carol Jennings Fellow (which we reported on here: https://journalofdementiacare.co.uk/carol-jennings-fellow-for-2024-25-announced), says:

“We hear with our ears, but we also hear with our brains, and dementia can affect how the brain interprets sound, even when the ears themselves are working normally.

When we’re in a busy environment, such as a pub or restaurant with lots of people talking, the brain must work hard to focus on a single voice. That’s an example of the type of ability we refer to as ‘brain hearing’. This is challenging for everybody, but this study shows that it’s even harder for people with a form of dementia, like Alzheimer’s disease.”

Researchers hope that a test using sounds and images could help people who culturally or linguistically struggle with current dementia diagnostic tools (which are very reliant on words), but further studies will be required to assess the potential use of more sounds and sound combinations in non-verbal hearing tests and with diverse communities.

You can read the study here: https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/alz.71358