Association between age-related hearing loss and gait disorders in older fallers

Introduction Falls are associated with hearing loss, which might be explained by the onset of gait disorders. The objective of this study was to examine the association between Age-Related Hearing Loss (ARHL) and gait disorders assessed with GAITrite ® walkway in a population of fallers aged 75 and over while accounting for the vestibular function. Methods We examined data from 53 older patients (mean 84.2 ± 5.1 years; 64% women) included after a GAITrite ® walkway assessment together with hearing and vestibular tests. People with high-frequency hearing loss, higher than 10% of the age and sex-matched population with the worst hearing, composed untimely ARHL group ( n = 30), whereas all others had expected ARHL ( n = 23). Presbyvestibulopathy was assessed accordingly to Barany Society criteria. Results After adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, Mini-Mental State Examination score and presbyvestibulopathy, we found an increase in stride length mean in the untimely ARHL group ( p = 0.046), but no between-group differences in stride length variability, cadence or velocity. Untimely ARHL was not associated with presbyvestibulopathy. Conclusions Untimely ARHL in older fallers was not associated with gait disorders in the studied population.